The Otter and The Fox
by Raptor Pilot
Summary: Having delayed his adventure to learn more about Pokémon, Benjamin sets out over a decade after most. Team Plasma is on the move. The fate of Unova rests on the shoulders of a kind hearted otter, a psychotic fox, and the rest of their team. Unova is in deep, deep, trouble. Rated for graphic content, harsh language, and mild sexual themes.
1. The Otter

**This story is about what would happen if me and my closest friend ended up on a journey together, based on how I used to be and becoming how I am now. This is an anthro world so if that for some reason bugs or disturbs you even though Pokemon like Gardevoir exist, you can just go ahead an leave. I'll also say that this story has a mix of cartoon and real world physics. In other words, it kinda follows its own logic. I'm gonna make the other chapters longer so don's focus on the length of this one too much.**

January 2nd, 2019. Nuvema Town.

Professor Juniper was going over some of her research notes when she heard the door to her lab open. She turned to look and saw a familiar face.

"Ah Ben. Good to see you."

Benjamin, or Ben as he preferred, was a somewhat short otter being only around 5'4. He was in relatively good shape. There wasn't really any muscle tone, but nothing that indicated him being out of shape either. The brown fur on his back accentuated by the white on his front and muzzle. He wore a belt to hold some items, glasses because otters were nearsighted, and a backpack, but that was all. His thick pelt hiding any mature bits very well. Anthros were almost as much of a mystery as Pokémon. The evolution from their feral counterparts was assumed to be instantaneous as there were no "in between" skeletons ever discovered. It was they appeared around the same time humans did for no apparent reason.

"Good afternoon Professor."

She put the papers away and walked over to speak to him in a more professional manner. "So what brings you here today?"

He smiles brightly. "Today's the day. I'm finally gonna start my Pokémon journey."

Juniper beamed back. "Well it's about time! Good to see you're finally confident enough."

Ben was starting quite late. In his early 20s, there were people his age who had been training for over a decade. "It wasn't just that I was nervous, I wanted to do research on Pokémon. I want to do this for a long time to come and so I wanted to make sure I do it right! I don't wanna get a couple badges, then fail to get the next one and give up. I'm going all the way!"

"Well knowing how much you care about Pokémon I can't see why you wouldn't. Now then, it's time to pi-"

Ben held up a webbed hand. "There's no need Professor, I already know which one I'm taking. I'm gonna pick Oshawott."

She chuckled for a moment. "I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that it's an otter too right?"

Ben smiled. "Of course. No correlation whatsoever."

Not needing to show the three starters, Juniper simply grabbed Oshawott's ball and placed it in Ben's hand. "Well here he is. He's all yours now. What are you gonna name him?"

Ben's smile dropped. "Uh... I... hadn't thought of that to be honest."

Juniper tilted her head. You had how many years to prepare and you didn't think of a name?" Ben responded by shuffling his feet. Juniper sighed. "Never change Ben. It doesn't really matter though. You can name him at any time you want. Now wait here for a minute. Juniper walked towards the back of the lab. She opened her laptop and typed in a bunch of info that Naro couldn't see even with his glasses. After a couple minutes she printed something out and grabbed some Pokeballs and a Pokedex out of a drawer. She then came back to Ben. "Here's your Trainer Card." She handed him a laminated card much like any normal ID. "Here are five Pokeballs and your Pokedex to get you started too." Ben attached Oshawott's ball and the Dex to his belt and put the empty ones in his backpack. "These Pokeballs are a bit different from the ones most people use. There's been quite a few reports of Pokémon attacking their trainers, many of which can be traced back to actions of Team Plasma, but these Pokeballs should prevent that from happening. I don't really expect you of all people to need that feature though. You've got a big heart."

"Thank you so much Professor!"

"Don't worry about it. Helping trainers get started is part of my job, and part of my job that I like. Now give me a call every now and then will ya?"

"Of course." With that, Ben turned around and walked out the door. He quickly sprinted to Route 1. It was finally time to start his journey.

As he ran into the Route, he took a deep breath of the crisp air. The flat and decently wooded area wasn't far from his home, but the air just smelled really good today. The sun was shining, the birds and bird Pokémon were chirping, and he felt great. His thick tail swayed behind him contentedly. He quickly spotted some tall grass.

"That's the best place to find Pokémon. Alright time to start training."

He stepped into the grass and began to search for Pokémon. He was eventually rewarded by finding a Patrat. He sent his starter out, the sea otter-like pokemon bouncing happily as it prepared for it's first real battle, as he flipped the Pokedex open and scanned it. "'Extremely cautious, they take shifts to maintain a constant watch of their nest. They feel insecure without a lookout.' Only Level 2 huh. Well I guess it's a start. Shouldn't take more than 2 hits. Oshawott use Tackle." The blue creature bounded forwards and launched itself into the rodent, doing a large amount of damage. The Patrat then responded with a Tackle of its own, but due to the difference in Level, it did very little. "Ok once more and that should finish it." The Oshawott repeated the action and was rewarded with its foe going down. "Good job little guy, now let's-"

He was unable to finish his sentence as he felt a furry arm wrap around his neck at the elbow. His hands shot up to try and pull it away, but it wouldn't budge. He looked down only to find he couldn't see what was grabbing him.

'What's happening!? Am I dreaming!?' He quickly discovered he wasn't as the hold tightened and he could feel his windpipe being crushed. He felt hot breath on the top of his head, indicating that whatever had him was significantly larger than he was. "S-Somebody help me." His voice came out much weaker than he was hoping as he couldn't get any air into his lungs. 'So this is it? This is how I'm gonna die huh? Less than five minutes into my journey and I'm gonna die.'

It was not to be however, as Oshawott reacted to the threat, and even though it couldn't see the assailant, based on his trainer's reaction he could guess where it was. He launched himself and tackled the invisible foe. He was rewarded with a grunt and the creature being revealed. The arm came off of Ben's neck and he quickly reached into his pack and grabbed an empty ball as he gasped for breath.

"You little shit. If you wanna die so badly I guess I'll kill you first!"

Ben's webbed fingers wrapped around a ball and he threw it at the voice, male by the sound of it. What was this thing? Only anthro Pokémon could talk, but they were quite rare. By the time he turned around all he saw was the red energy being absorbed into the ball, which fell to the ground and began to shake. "Come on Oshawott! We need to get out of here before he-"

Click. The ball stopped shaking.

Ben knelt down and carefully picked the ball up. Did he really...

There was a ding as the Pokedex registered the new information of the captured specimen. He looked at the picture.

"No way… Hope he's not too upset about that."


	2. The Fox

**Well, now we get to meet the other main character. I warn you, for a good while, be prepared for some extremely harsh language from him. He's based on me afterall. Now don't judge him too harshly jus yet. He does have a reason for his behavior, one which will be explained in great detail later on.**

As Ben recalled Oshawott, he stared at the image on the screen oh his Pokedex. A tall, lanky, bipedal fox with a very large hairdo was shown. Zoroark. Completely by accident, he'd just captured one of the rarest Pokémon in Unova. An anthro one at that from the fact that it spoke English. There probably weren't even a hundred Zoroarks like him on the entire planet, and yet here was one. A description of the species appeared, which he read aloud. "'Bonds between these Pokémon are very strong. It protects the safety of its pack by tricking its opponents. Average Height 5'03. Average Weight 178.8. Captured Specimen is Level 32 and measures 6'02 and 190.4.' Wow, big guy. Well, I'm gonna have to do this sooner or later. May as well get it over with." As much as he didn't want to do this, he was gonna have to interact with him sooner or later. Better to do it now than during a battle.

Ben tossed the ball, which burst open and the Zoroark materialized in front of him. Now while Ben was pretty normal as far as otters went, this Zoroark was anything but normal. For one thing the 'dex was correct in regarding his size. He towered over Ben by 10 inches and maybe a touch more. His arms were more of what you saw on most creatures. Thicker up higher and slimmer towards the hands, which was clearly a trait of him being an anthro. He had notable, but not large, msucles lining his body. He was lean but not buff. Finally and the most noticeable was his mane. It was short. Most Zoroark manes were longer than they were tall as they would hit the ground if the species were to stand up straight. This one had a mane that would've only reached his shoulder... if it didn't stand up and seem to defy gravity. It was split into a number of prominent spikes with black tips.

The dark fox's eyes caught Ben, and he scowled. Ben was immediately beginning to regret this decision. "YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH! I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"

And that commanded his full attention. Fear shot through him as he quickly uttered without thinking, "Wait hold on!" Which was unusual for him. Normally he took a few seconds to consider his words and make sure they weren't taken the wrong way. Here however, yeah he didn't have the time.

The fox sneered in contempt. He felt as if he had been gravely wronged. He'd just had his freedom stripped away. Most Pokémon wouldn't mind, in fact most would acutally prefer it. It was a much easier life with a trainer, usually. You didn't have to hunt for you food or worry about dying if you lost a fight. This Zoroark however was an anthro. Basically half human. Freedom was a big fucking deal to him. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't cut your windpipe open, shove a stick up your ass, and roast you on a spit you stupid dickhead!"

'Boy he's more pissed than I thought, and he's got quite a tongue on him.' "Look I'm not gonna hurt you." He raised his webbed hands to chest level in a disarming fashion.

"Well you're very right about that. The only one gonna be doing nay hurting is me." Ben wasn't about to send Oshawott out for the same reason why he recalled him. He wouldn't stand a chance. At least this way if he couldn't get out of this then maybe the ball would be found by someone else. The fox bent his knees and lunged, only to be stopped as electricity could be seen coursing through his body just before he cut Ben open with those very nasty claws, of which he had five on each hand instead of the usual three.

Ben then remembered what Juniper had told him. The Pokeballs he was carrying would prevent his Pokémon from harming him. Something which he was extremely grateful for at this moment, but... that shock looked painful as the vulpine's muscles simply locked up.

The illusion Pokémon growled. "The fuck was that?"

Ben didn't want to piss him off further by ignoring him. "Well, apparently my Pokeballs will keep any Pokémon I-" He nearly said own, but figured that this Zoroark wouldn't appreciate that word. "-have, from harming me."

The Zoroark growled again, this time showing teeth. "You will release me right this instant or you will regret it."

Ben normally didn't like to be mean, but he hadn't done anything to this Zoroark and the way he was behaving was grinding on his nerves. "Well in the last 90 seconds you've threatened to hurt or kill me three times, and this Pokeball will keep you from doing so. Why on earth would I release you?"

The fox's expression quickly changed to one of desperation. He really didn't want to have to be dragged along with this guy. "Ok you've had your fun, I promise I won't hurt you, now please release me."

"Look I don't trust you right now, so no. Besides I wasn't even trying to capture you. I was just trying to buy some time so I could run away."

This didn't sit well with him. "YOU WEREN'T TRYING TO...….. That's embarrassing to say the least. C'mon please let me go."

"No." The tone Ben used had a sense of finality. "You want to be released you have to prove that I can trust you, and let's just say you've got a lot of work to do to prove that to me."

The Zoroark showed his teeth again. He hated not being in control. After a few moments, Ben spoke up again. "So... got a name?"

The fox glared at him. "It's Logan. Now if you'd kindly recall me, oh and go fuck yourself." His voice was absolutely dripping with disdain.

Ben sighed and did as was requested. And just like that, within five minutes he'd gone from ecstatic about his adventure, to very worried.

"This is gonna be tough."


	3. A Tension in the Atmosphere

**So some of you have probably noticed the changes to the otter's name, again. Just some uh, technical difficulties. Also, the region(s) here are gonna be more like small countries. It'll take days to walk from city to city instead of minutes, and there will be a lot more people in each city or town. I can't believe, well actually I can. My short term memory sucks.**

**Kurama The Platinum Zoroark: No I am not typing out that full name every single time. So Kurama from now on. Um... No... He was not. I don't know why that's the first place your mind went to and I really don't wanna know why. You'll get the first piece of the puzzle next chapter.**

As Ben continued on his way, he encountered a number of wild Pokemon, which he had his Oshawott deal with as he didn't want to deal with Logan right now. That didn't stop him from thinking about him though. 'I don't get it. Zoroarks have been painted as very kind Pokemon despite their appearance. At least until you threaten their pack. So why does this one act so... well I don't think evil is the right word, but, like such a jerk. Maybe I took him from his pack? No, he probably would've mentioned it if that's why he was so angry. Maybe he's just not very nice... What if my Pokeball malfunctions? He'd kill me. Well, Pokeballs are one of the most reliable pieces of technology ever made, but there's still a small chance. Maybe I should just put him in a PC Box. … No, that's not right. I don't want to just leave a Pokémon in a PC for how ever long... that's no way to live, even if he is mean."

After a number of hours, and his Oshawott gaining two levels, night began to fall. "Time to set up camp I guess, and feed my Pokémon. Which means... Logan." He sighed. Not looking forwards to interacting with the dark fox again. He set his bag down and pulled a pair of metal food dishes out. Unfortunately he'd only packed Water Type and Normal Type Pokémon food. He never would've predicted he'd have a Dark Type so soon. 'Guess I'll have to give him the Normal Type and hope he doesn't hate it.'

He put the watery fish based Water Type food in the first bowl. This was designed for Water Type Pokemon that lived on animals and fish Pokemon like Oshawott. The soggy pellets would make most Pokemon gag, but Water Types preferred a lot of water in their food. He put the standard dry food in the second. This had a mix of dehydrated meat and plants condensed into a small ball. It was basically a step up from cat or dog food. 'Here's hoping he likes dog food...'

He sent his Oshawott out in front of his bowl. "Dinner time buddy. Eat up while I set up camp."

"Oshawott!" The lutrine like Pokémon responded happily and began to eat the chow happily.

'Please don't be a problem.' He tossed Logan's ball and the tall fox materialized. He saw Ben and sighed.

"The fuck do you want?" Ben was actually pretty relieved. He seemed to be in a better mood. That was actually pretty polite considering their previous encounter.

"Dinner time. I imagine you're hungry." The Zoroark scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Well yes, my breakfast decided to capture me." Now it was Ben's turn to sigh. 'He's gonna be like this the whole way isn't he?'

"Look, I'm sorry i captured you and potentially took you from your family. I know you're angry at me, but we're kinda stuck together now. Can't we at least try to get along?" The fox just stared at him before speaking. "Don't think that changes anything. We may be stuck with each other but that sure as shit doesn't mean I have to like you. I'm fact the only reason I'm not trying to kill you is because I'm smart enough to know brute force won't work here. Also I didn't have a pack. I lived on my own. I don't have any friends or pack members or whatever, and I don't want any."

Ben took a deep breath. "Look, it's been a long day for both of us. Just, eat up while I set up camp, we'll get some sleep, and hopefully we both feel better tomorrow." Logan gave a fuh sound before turning to where the food was. He froze immediately. Ben noticed this. 'Oh sweet merciful God no.'

"What. The fuck. Is this? Dog food in a bowl!? Are you fucking serious!? I'm an anthro, same as you, and THIS is how you wanna feed me?! Fuck you!" Logan stromed over to the bowl and stomped on it with his powerful legs. The bowl was crushed under his paw, flattened by the sheer force. "You'll give me proper food right this second!" Oshawott had taken note of this, but smartly decided to stay out of this. There was nothing he could do, and he didn't want the Zoroark to cut him open and decide to eat him instead.

Ben quickly took his backpack off and began to tear through the compartment where he had his food. He had some chips, some protien bars for when he didn't have time to make a meal since they were quite filling, he had some cured haddock, and beef jerky. He quickly grabbed the jerky an tossed it to the furious fox, who caught it and cut the top open with one of his claws. "I may not be able to cause you pain directly, but if you ever, and I mean EVER, try to feed me shit like that again, you WILL regret it!" With that, Logan turned around and walked away a bit. He didn't want to even look at Ben right now.

With Logan turned away, Ben learned two things. One about Zoroarks as a species, and one about this specific Zoroark. Zoroarks in fact, did not have tails. Most people didn't know whether they did or not since they had that long mane, and didn't look it up online. This Zoroark may not have been feral, but anthros always kept the tail of their feral counterparts, so if he Logan didn't have one, feral Zoroarks didn't either.

The other thing he learned, the one about Logan specifically, he had a nice ass. Zoroark's almost always had quite bony rears due to their lanky build, but this one was a decent bit bigger. Nothing excessive, but notably larger. It also had a good balance between muscle and fat. Meaning it would keep shape while walking, but if force was put against it-

"ARE YOU STARING AT MY ASS!?"

The otter jumped a bit. Being bi he did feel attraction to males, and he did stare for a bit, this Zoroark was physically attractive, but being honest her would probably be detrimental to his health. "No! I was, checking to see if you had a tail! I didn't know and since you mane is so short I thought I'd check."

Logan looked at him with a judgmental expression. "Bull. Shit." He then sat down and continued to eat.

Ben breathed a quite sigh of relief. He then took his tent out of his backpack and began to set it up. He knew he'd have to do this while on his journey, so he practiced it a number of times until he was able to do it fairly quickly. Logan and Oshawott had finished eating by then. Ben recalled Oshawott, but when he grabbed Logan's ball, he received a glare. "I would much prefer to sleep with some fresh air rather than cooped up in that tiny sphere."

"Ok, just don't touch me ok?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Ben laid out his sleeping bag inside the tent and climbed into it. He'd only packed the one, but Logan didn't seem to care. He laid on the opposite end of the tent and curled up. Ben began to reflect on the day. He'd had his first battle, nearly gotten killed, somehow captured this incredibly rude fox, and now said fox was sleeping less than two feet away. He had to figure out why a member of a normally kind species was so mean. Something must've happened to him, but when and what? Maybe it was something simple like he got kicked out of his pack recently and he was still upset about it, or maybe... maybe something really bad happened. All he knew, is that he had to do something to help him. He wanted to help, he always wanted to help when he could, but this time he had to for his own sake. He had to so he could help him become better. Otherwise...

'This will be a very, very long trip.'


	4. I'm Sick of This Life

**And now it's time to peel back the curtain just a tiny bit on Logan's past. Believe me, you'll know what I'm referring to when you see it. Kinda impossible to miss really.**

January 3rd, 2019. 10 miles outside of Accumula Town.

Ben woke up about at dawn, and the first thing he did was panic, because he smelled smoke, and it was awfully close. 'Oh dear God he set the tent on fire!' However, after a moment, he noticed a distinct lack of heat around him, besides the sleeping bag that is. He crawled out and stretched his back. He then noticed the flickering light outside the tent. Logan's shadow displayed on the wall within it. He grabbed his backpack, grabbed the cured haddock he had packed, unzipped the tent, and walked outside. He noticed Logan sitting back to him about eight inches from the campfire. 'Did he make that? I didn't.' He decided to speak up before Logan accused him of staring again. "When did you make that?"

Logan stood up and turned around, revealing he had a mouthful of slightly cooked, but still bleeding meat, the blood which was dripping down his muzzle. He held up the index claw on his right hand. He chewed a few more times before swallowing... and burping quite loudly. 'Well I didn't expect him to have table manners after what I had seen yesterday.' Logan then answered the question. "I'm a Dark Type dipshit. I can't spend ALL night asleep. I got up about an hour before dawn and did some hunting." He gestured just left of Ben's peripheral vision, where a skinned Lillipup lay. The skin and fur lay just a foot away from the remaining meat and bones. Mostly bones.

It made sense. Dark Types had an affinity for night time. That did leave one question though. "How'd you light it? Did you use my Firestarter?" This was met with a loud laugh from the grey furred fox. He then turned to the fire, opened his maw, and shot flames from his mouth. The fire burned wildly before beginning to die down as the outpour of flames had eaten up a lot of wood. "You know Flamethrower!?"

"You never checked what Moves I know did you." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. As if saying gravity exists. Ben blushed and rubbed the back of his head. How had he forgotten something so simple? "I'll save you the trouble. I know Flamethrower, Dark Pulse, Fury Swipes, and Hone Claws. Mom and Dad got me TMs for Flamethrower and Dark Pulse my last Christmas with them as I had told them I'd be leaving." It was as good an explanation as any.

"Well, finish your meal while I pack up camp. We should reach Accumula Town in about five hours if we walk, taking battles into account of course. Speaking of which, do you wanna-"

"NO!"

"Ok then. I guess I'll use Oshawott." Ben began to take down the tent. It had taken him a few minutes, during which time the sun began to peek over the trees, and Logan of course did not help after he finished eating, but he had not been expected to. His opinions on helping out Ben were pretty clear at this point. Ben reached towards his belt when Logan grabbed his hand.

"I'm not going back in there. I'm walking, and you'd better not slow me down." Ben sighed and knew Logan, being far and away stronger than him, would easily be able to keep him from grabbing the ball, so he decided to just go with it. The thought of, 'Oh no, I'm gonna hear him complain the whole damn time aren't I?' went through his mind. He would be pleasantly surprised to learn that Logan was actually gonna be relatively quiet as he only grumbled a few times. During the walk, Ben had been confronted by a number of wild Pokémon, while had managed to get Oshawott to Level 8. It would be a long while yet before Ben would be able to have him confront Logan about his constant poor attitude even if Logan didn't fight a single battle until then.

It had taken two days of walking, and this was a very short Route by comparison, but finally Ben, and the ever unhappy Logan, walked into Accumula Town. It was small by comparison. Only about a thousand people. There were no major chain restaurants besides McDonphan's and Burger Kingdra, and a couple family run places, there was only a small hotel besides the Pokémon Center, and there was a single grocery store, Food Pyroar. Overall, a pretty unremarkable place, but as with most small towns, the people were mostly very friendly and down to earth. Ben looked at his phone. It was well past noon. "We should get something to eat and then hit Food Pyroar. After that let's get to the Center and get a room for the night."

"Whatever you say bosstard, I mean bastard." Ben thought that one was pretty creative for something on the fly, unless he spent the entire day until now thinking of insults, but it still made him sigh. This vulpine was single handedly ruining the thing he'd been waiting more than a decade for. Ultimately though, Logan didn't complain when they went to one of the family restaurants. They did have some fish on the menu, and not just fish Pokémon, but actual fish, so he got a salmon burger. Logan ordered a rare cheeseburger with onions and fires. This made Ben raise an eye, and after the waiter left he asked. "I thought you were carnivorous."

"90%. Being an anthro I can eat other things besides meat an berries, but meat makes up the vast majority of my diet." Ben made a hum of acknowledgement before they returned to waiting for the food. Neither of them said a word. Neither of them wanted to. They ate in the same amount of silence, apart from Logan moaning in approval as he devoured his bloody burger, which made Ben shake his head. Ben paid and they left.

Ben quickly fed Oshawott his Pokechow before they went to Food Pyroar. It was the third largest grocery store chain in the world. Behind Froakie's, and of course WalMart. Ben grabbed a smaller sized cart and the duo began going through the aisles picking out less perishable snack foods. They got plenty of cured meats for Logan, and Ben got another small bag of Oshawott's Pokechow. He asked Logan if he'd like to try the carnivorous Dark Type food, to which was met with another insult and threat. In the end it was a short shopping trip and after checking out, they went to the Pokémon Center.

When they arrived it was around 2:00. They entered and saw a few trainers, but not a notable amount. Most of them were out training at the moment. Ben walked up to the counter as Logan took a seat. How there were so many Nurse Joys around was still a complete mystery, but no one complained as they were all exceptionally nice and professional. Ben informed her he needed Oshawott healed and that they needed a room for the night. Rooms and basic medical service were free for trainers, any major work needed, broken bones, prescriptions, now those cost money. The Pokémon League funded the places so there was no danger of them going broke and shutting down. As Ben turned around to inform Logan that they had a room, a raccoon in a trench coat walked in. He stood in the middle of the Center and spoke loudly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a robbery." He pulled a pistol out of his coat. The Pokemart here may not have dealt in expensive trainer goods, but it was the one with the most customers, so it did still pull in quite a bit of money. "Everyone lay down with your hands on your head. No one do anything too stupid, and I won't do anything too unkind." Nearly everyone gasped and followed orders. Nearly everyone. Predictably, Logan just sat there with his legs and arms crossed, which the raccoon noticed as he was scanning the room to make sure people followed his orders. "Hey Foxy Brown, are you deaf. On the floor with your hands on your head."

Logan sighed in annoyance before getting up. He brushed off the black fur on his chest, and looked to the thief. "No. I'm not. Why the hell would I listen to you?"

The procyonid growled. "Are you fucking stupid!? I have a gun! I'm going to KILL YOU if you don't!" Ben gestured to Logan to get down, which was, you guessed it, ignored.

"Go ahead then. Kill me." He took two steps forwards. The raccoon's hand was shaking. "You have two options here. Either you kill me and go to jail for the rest of your life if you even have the balls to pull that trigger, or you drop the gun and kick it over to me. Of course you could take option three. Do nothing until I reach you, which will be met with a massive ass kicking. So make your choice." Logan began walking towards him. His hand was shaking even more now. It was hard for him to even point it at the approaching fox who showed absolutely no fear.

"S-STAY BACK! I'M WARNING YOU! NOT ONE MORE STEP!"

This too was ignored, and within a few seconds, the window of time was over. Logan knocked the gun out of his hand with his immense Zoroark strength, before he delivered on what he said. He grabbed the wrist of the hand that had been holding the gun with his left, and then punched the elbow of said arm with his right. The elbow massively bent the wrong way as a loud crack resounded, as well as a scream of pain. The same was then done to the other arm, and then Logan kicked the knee of the would be criminal, which also broke and bent the wrong way. This caused the raccoon to fall on his back as he continued to scream in pain. Logan wasn't done yet. He knelt on the attempted criminal's chest and began to punch him in the face, over, and over, and over. He was holding back enough to not instantly kill him, but not enough to not cause severe damage. Teeth were knocked out, both eyes were blackened, and a major concussion was dealt. Before Logan literally beat him to death, he was tackled off by Ben.

"HE'S HAD ENOUGH! STOP! PLEASE!" Logan rolled his eyes before pushing Ben off of him and standing up like nothing had happened. Like his hands weren't absolutely coated in blood. Ben quickly elected to head to their room before anyone could recover from their shock. He found their room, opened it with the keycard, and shoved Logan in as hard as he could. He stumbled a bit, but said nothing. It was hard to make Ben snap, but everyone had their limits, and what Logan had just done had crossed the line. Ben had a number of very loud choice words for Logan after that. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!? YOU NEARLY KILLED HIM!"

Logan was not phased one bit. "I just wish I had. He was a threat."

"NO! HE WASN'T! YOU GOT THE GUN AWAY FROM HIM! HE WAS HARMLESS AND YOU NEARLY BEAT HIM TO DEATH! YOU SICK BASTARD!" Ben opened his mouth to continue screaming, but he took a breath to calm down a bit. He was still fuming, and his voice was still loud, but it wasn't screaming anymore. "What you did was incredibly cruel, and also incredibly stupid! What if he had shot you!? You weren't using your illusions were you!" This time it was Ben's turn to state a question as a fact. "You could've died!" Logan crossed his arms and turned away with a huff. Again, he was not impressed in the slightest. "What is wrong with you!? Why don't you care!?" He was met with silence. "Answer me!"

Logan turned his head enough so that Ben could see his left eye. Ben would remember the next words spoken for the rest of his life, and for all the wrong reasons. Without any sarcasm, disdain, any emotion at all, Logan said, "I wanna die."


	5. A Vision, or Delusion

**Kurama: Yes, that is very dark. The emotions he will go through are reflective of the ones I went through. Not long after I met my friend, through no fault of his own I must add, that's about how I felt, and of course because this is based on me, the phrase, "and then things got worse," will be in effect not too long from now. It will get better, but it will get a good bit worse before it gets better.**

**Anyways, I'd have had this up earlier, but it was hunting season and we did out annual Deer Camp. Me and one other guy downed one. I'm four for four with my muzzleloader, and between all of us we're something like ten for ten. If we've taken a shot with a muzzleloader it has resulted in a kill.**

The short phrase had silenced Ben. He stood there with his mouth slightly parted as he stared at the tall fox. Those words... that was a horrible sentence. One that could only come from a long time of pain and misery. His view of this Zoroark immediately went from viewing him as a total psychopath, to viewing him as someone in desperate need of help. He liked to help people, even those who maybe didn't deserve it. "W-What did you say?"

Logan's voice came out as emotionless as it had when he stated his desire for death. "You heard me. I wanna die." Ben would've considered the possibility that this was a ploy to garner sympathy and leeway, but the words had been said so matter-of-factly, that despite all the sarcasm and jokes that had come from Logan, Ben couldn't help but believe him. He was being 100% truthful for once. Ben was shocked. He seemed so sure of himself and confident most of the time, how could a creature with such an aura of authority be so depressed?

"Wh-Why do you... What happened to you?" Logan turned his head to face directly away from Ben, and again spoke in a somber voice.

"Nothing... I... I'm not saying anything about it. Good night." With that, Logan unmade one of the beds, crawled under the covers, and threw them over his head.

'I never thought I'd see him act like that. He needs help. He may be mean, but... he doesn't deserve death. Logan, I swear, I'm gonna figure out what's wrong, and I'm going to fix it. I think you've shown me your real face, for just a moment, but I think that was the real you. Vulnerable and unsure maybe, but, perhaps kind and caring. I want to see more of what you're really like, because I don't think you're that bad. I'm gonna fix you Logan.' Heavy with emotion and a feeling of responsibility, he crawled in the other bed, and after some time, fell asleep.

January 4th, 2019. 7:00 am.

Ben woke up slowly to the smell of sausage. He slowly rolled over and looked at the other bed. Logan was munching on the sausage part of sausage biscuits, as well as actual sausages. The buns of the biscuits were just kind of strewn about the room, including a couple on top of Ben's bed. "You really have no self control do you?" He was actually hoping to get a smart ass response, it would mean Logan was back to quote unquote normal.

"Not a tiny bit fuckwad." Yep, he was back to, well, not really himself.

"Well I've still got to eat, so we're gonna head back down to the lobby." Ben threw his pack on, fed Oshawott while he himself was eating. They were receiving stares from the people and Pokémon who had been there when Logan had nearly beat the raccoon to death. they didn't risk saying anything though. When they were both finished, Ben saw the nurse on duty and informed her he was moving on. She marked the room down as vacant and they left the building.

When the duo walked outside, Ben noticed a gathering around the town square. "Hey Logan, does that seem odd to you?" Logan gave a nod. "I think we should check it out. What do you think?" He gave another nod as his eyes were narrowed in suspicion. They walked over to the crowd.

Logan began pushing his way through the crowd. "'scuse me pardon me not sorry outta my fucking way."

Ben followed him. "Sorry about him. Please forgive him. He didn't mean it. I apologize."

They made it to the front of the crowd and glanced upon the actual town square. "HEY FOXY SIT DOWN!" Someone had screamed after the tall Zoroark had blocked his view.

"IF I COME BACK THERE YOU'LL END UP IN THE HOSPITAL!" And that was the end of that discussion.

There were a pair of gaudy banners set up and a number of people in, "Really fucking stupid outfits," as Logan put it. A couple minutes later they parted and a green haired man in a, "Really fucking stupid robe," walked to the front. "Logan we need to work on your tact."

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Ghestis. I am here representing Team Plasma." Logan opened his mouth, presumably to remark about that being a, 'Really fucking stupid name,' but Ben gave him a soft elbow in the side and asked him to please be quiet. "I am here today to discuss with you the idea of Pokémon Liberation." This sent some murmurs through the crowd, which he didn't listen to as he continued. "On the outside, I'm sure it appears to you all that humans, anthros, and Pokémon are all equals."

"Equals? Are you f-" Logan had been about to presumably cuss him out with every word in the book, but he was silenced as Ben's webbed hand covered his mouth.

"Nope! Nope nope nope nope nope we are not doing this! You are going into your ball!" Ben pressed the button against Logan's side and he was sucked into the device. All eyes were immediately on Ben, those that had line of sight to him anyways, including Ghestis and Team Plasma. He blushed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck. "He has a very bad attitude problem. Please continue."

Ghestis narrowed his eyes. "As you can see though, Pokémon, even anthro Pokémon, are not treated as equals, and are subjugated and confined. I believe my point has been proven for me so all I'll ask is that you consider releasing your Pokémon so that we may all truly be equals."

With that, a pair of Team Plasma members grabbed the banners and without another words, they all walked away. The crowd looked to Ben for a few minutes before beginning to disperse. All but one, a second green haired man, dressed more normally, whose haircut reminded Ben of a normal Zoroark, just a bit shorter.

"It's an interesting idea I must admit. Name's N." He held his hand out towards the otter. Ben took the handshake.

"Ben. Is it really just N?" He nodded. "Okay. Not gonna judge."

N gave a small smile. "You know, I have a very unusual gift. After living my whole life with them, I've discovered I've actually gained the ability to speak to, and understand, Pokémon. I'm curious to see what your Pokémon think of you." 'Oh no.' Ben could tell where this was going, but before he could stop him, N had already grabbed on of the Pokeballs from Ben's belt. Logan's. 'Oh sweet merciful God, this can't possibly end well.' N pressed the button and sent out the Zoroark, who faced Ben.

"Hey asshole." He noticed N. "Who's this dickhead?" N took a step back at his... colorful language.

"OK... so he's the one who almost interrupted Ghestis. He's... mean."

"Yeah I was really hoping you wouldn't meet him. As I said, serious attitude problem."

N regained his composure. "Um, ok. And you are?" Logan gave the simple one word response of his name. "Ok, Logan, what do you think of Ben?"

Ben covered his face with his hands. "Well he's a better man than me. Haven't really known him that long so I can't tell you much. Kinda clueless though." Ben picked his head up. That wasn't so bad.

"Hm. I suppose that's a good answer. Anyways, Ben. I'd like to see what your Pokémon can do, and how well you train them. Would you like to have a battle?"

Ben smiled. Now this was his language. "You're on!" He grabbed Oshawott's ball. "Now let's see what you can do against-" His hand was stopped before he threw the ball. Logan had a solid hold of his arm.

"I don't think so Ben. I'm gonna handle this one." Ben's smile dropped.

"Um. I don't think that's a good idea Logan." He looked to N for help.

"I'd like to see how well this Zoroark can fight. I don't have him with me, but I actually have a Zorua, so having a battle against its evolved form would be nice."

"N I REALLY think this is a bad idea!"

"Oh come on how bad could he be?"

Ben sighed loudly. "Don't say I didn't warn you." Logan popped the knuckles his claws were attached to and dropped into a very low fighting pose.

N threw his Pokeball and a Purrloin emerged onto the battlefield. "Ok buddy, I don't think we're gonna win this fight, but please give it your all." The catlike Pokémon gave a cheerful meow and got into a fighting position of its own.

Logan gave a dark grin. "You may have the first move. I don't think you'll get another."

"Okay Purrloin, Zoroarks have low defenses, so use Scratch!" The small feline ran at Logan and leapt up, leading with its claws to attack. It didn't connect as Logan reached up and grabbed its neck.

"Oooooh nooooo." Ben knew what was coming. He fumbled to grab Logan's Pokeball, but it was too late. Logan slammed the Purrloin into the ground repeatedly. Loud cries of pain came from it the first time before it passed out, but Logan continued to slam it into the dirt.

N yelled out in concern for his loyal companion. "STOP STOP!" He ran over and nearly reached Logan when Ben was able to recall him. N knelt down by his now bleeding Pokémon. He picked him up and cradled him. He looked to Ben with anger in his eyes. "I don't know what that thing is, but it's not a Pokémon. I've never seen any Pokémon, anthro or no, act like that. Get that, thing, under control." N turned and walked away.

'Well that couldn't have gone any worse. I really need to help him with his attitude. I hope it's whatever that happened to him that's making him behave like that. Otherwise... well, let's just hope it doesn't come to that.'


	6. Let's Talk

**Hope y'all had a good Thanksgiving. My American readers that is. If you aren't... hope you had a nice normal day I guess. This one is more of a character building chapter, and a minor one at that, so it's a short one today.**

January 5th, 2019. 9:17 am.

After N had walked off to get his Pokémon medical attention, Ben glared at Logan who merely shrugged. "You and I need to talk."

Logan rolled his eyes with a huff. "The only things we need to do are eat, drink, and breathe." Ben was, understandably, not in the mood for Logan's bullshit remarks. He was furious that Logan had nearly killed a Pokémon that belonged to someone else. Now Ben wasn't stupid. He knew that Pokémon like Zoroarks had to kill to survive, and that often meant other wild Pokémon. That Purloin however was not wild, and neither was Logan. There was absolutely no need for Logan to do what he did. Logan had just eaten. He was not out for the kill to fill his belly or protect his territory. It seemed he wanted to kill purely because he could, and to Ben, that was simply unacceptable.

The duo silently walked to Route 2, and after a short bit of walking, Ben confronted Logan. "I know that you don't care about others, I know you want to die, but that's no reason to be cruel and try to kill anyone whenever you want. I don't know why you think attempted murder is ok, but it's not, and I want that to stop right now." Ben's voice was calm, but authoritative. Logan, once again, didn't flinch. Ben could try to stand up to him all he wanted, but it wasn't going to work on him. He knew the only reason Ben was so ready to stand up to him was because he couldn't harm Ben because of that fucking Pokeball. If it wasn't for that, Ben would've been dead five seconds after his capture.

"Don't pretend to understand me, you know nothing. I don't think murder is ok."

"So why do you keep trying to do it?!" He wanted an answer for this fox's bizarre and violent behavior. Sure, Zoroarks were predators, apex predators for that matter, and when needed they would be aggressive to scare off or kill as needed, but the situations in which Logan had acted did not call for that behavior one bit.

"Why the hell should I tell you?" Logan dodged the question, but didn't exactly hide the fact. He'd done something like this, back when Ben asked him why he wished to die. Whatever the answer was, it was important to him, and he didn't want anyone to know about it. Ben knew that the answers to his questions lie within there, but he would have to gain the Zoroark's trust first. He took a breath and changed his approach. Confidence and confrontation was clearly not going to work on him.

"Ok look, I'm sorry for capturing you. I was just trying to defend myself. I know you don't owe me anything, but like it or not, we're partners now. If we continue to be at each other's throats the whole time we're both gonna be miserable the whole way. Can we just start over and try to at least pretend we get along?"

Logan adopted a thinking face. He was tossing the idea around in his head. This was good. It meant Logan was willing to at least hear what Ben had to say, which was progress to say the least. After a number of moments, Ben realized he was holding his breath, and slowly exhaled to breathe normally again. Soon after, Logan nodded. "Ok. Ok fine. I can appreciate someone trying to be reasonable. I'm smart enough to know when something can work out for both of us."

Ben couldn't help the thought that crossed his mind. 'Coulda fooled me. You haven't shown me much reason.' "Ok then. Hi, I'm Ben. Trainer from Nuvema Town." Ben extended his webbed hand. Hoping Logan would hold be reasonable enough to shake hands.

"Logan, Zoroark from... well a number of places." Logan looked at the hand before hesitantly shaking it. 'Perfect.' Ben thought. 'That kind of answer can be a great conversation piece.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I was, well not born, I hatched in Nacrene, but before I was old enough to remember, we moved to a Castelia. We lived there for a few years, and by the time I was five, we moved again. I can't remember any details. I was still just a kit. We then moved to a town about an hour of driving outside Nimbasa. We lived there for many years, until we moved after I finished school. They then moved to Mistralton while I left and set up a territory in the forest a bit a ways from our home near Nimbasa, where I lived for two years before... before... nevermind. Anyways I left shortly before my 20th birthday and took up a territory in Route 1."

Ben gained another piece of the puzzle. 'So whatever happened, seems to have happened to him occurred when he was at that territory by Nimbasa. So it wasn't that long ago.' "Well that's quite a bit of moving for one so young. I spent my whole life in Nuvema and only traveled outside when we went on vacation." Ben was hoping he would be asked where they went, but it didn't seem that Logan cared. "So what was your life like before you went to the wild?"

"Boring. I went to school, which I hated because I was made fun of a lot for being an anthro Pokémon. You know how it is. If its new its bad in the eyes of dickhead children. Anyways I pretty much just stayed at home when I wasn't at school. The only thing I ever did besides school was I played hockey during middle school and high school."

Ben knew exactly nothing about sports. He never watched any because he never got into them as a kid. His main focus had been Pokémon. Information he relayed to Logan. "I can't say I know anything about hockey. I was pretty much solely devoted to learning about Pokémon. In fact I delayed my journey for over a decade to learn more."

"You're patient I'll give you that." Logan didn't say anything after that, and they continued in awkward silence. Ben met a single trainer who challenged him with his Patrat, which Oshawott won without much trouble thanks to the Water Gun Move it had picked up after getting to Level 7 back at Route 1. By the time the sun was low in the sky, Oshawott was Level 11, and Logan still had not fought a single battle for Ben, and Ben was beginning to wonder if he ever would. They had some food before Ben began to set up camp. Due to his thick fur from being an otter, the crisp winter air didn't bother him in the slightest, and the same could be said for Logan, so a fire was not needed. It was when he was about done setting up, that he noticed something odd. Logan had some kind of glass bottle in his hands. Ben did not have any glass bottled in his backpack that he knew of. The liquid in this bottle was an amber color.

"What's that you've got?"

Logan's reply was a simple one word answer. "Whiskey."

"Where'd you get that? I didn't buy any at the store and I didn't bring any." He had a suspicion about how he got it, he just hoped it was wrong.

"I stole it." It wasn't.

"How and why? You were next to me the whole ti-... you used an illusion." Logan nodded and took another swig. "So why'd you take it?"

"It helps numb me." Ben knew that he wasn't gonna get anything else out of him. This pertained to whatever he was trying to keep secret, and Ben had gained nowhere near enough trust to get that answer.

"Ok look, just, please don't steal anything else. I don't approve of you drinking your problems away but I know I can't stop you. If you want me to get some I will, just no more stealing ok?" Logan looked at him with a sort of surprised sort of inebriated look on his muzzle. He nodded before climbing into the tent and curling up. Ben got in his sleeping bag after closing the tent zipper, and began to sleep.


	7. The Dark Has Got a Hold on Me

**Outer Worlds... It's awesome. 'Nuff said. Also this is very important for this chapter. These "Hello" are spoken words, and these 'Hello' are thoughts.**

January 6th, 2019. Dawn.

The lutrine woke up to the smell of food, as he had done the last two days. Logan had killed something else, but by the time Ben stretched himself out and went outside it was just a pile of fur and bones, and Ben was far too groggy to care about what he killed. This he was ok with. It was, hopefully, a wild Pokémon and he was hungry, That's how nature works. Predators get hungry and they hunt. Logan looked back when he heard the zipper open.

"Ah, morning. There's still a few bits of meat left if'n you're hungry." Ben rubbed his eyes, and his ears. Was that a greeting without snark and sass? Logan noticed this and chuckled. "Hey I can be nice... sometimes."

Ben smiled. "Well it's good to see you actually trying to get along with me. I was starting to think it would never happen." He walked up and sat next to Logan. Logan promptly shoved him over for the remark, but playfully, at least for a Zoroark. Ben still ended up on the ground, but he didn't get hurt. Just a bit of dirt on his fur. "So I'm not allowed to be snarky?"

"Well I'm already a smartass. Do we really need another?" Ben laughed pretty good at that one. Logan made a really good point, even if he did it in a joking manner..

"Alright, alright."

Logan stabbed the remaining meat with the stick he'd been using to cook them to roast them a bit more since they were still bleeding a bit. After about a minute he blew on the basically shish kabob and handed it to Ben. "It's plain so don't be expecting a blast of flavor." Ben bit into the meat. As Logan said, it wasn't anything great, but being so fresh, it wasn't bad. While he was eating Logan shot a small Dark Pulse from his hand, the wind and force of which extinguished the fire. Then, to Ben's amazement, Logan actually began packing up the tent. He almost choked on the meat in his maw when he saw that, but he hit his chest and it went down. Logan noticed and shot a pouty look. "You have no faith in me." Ben shook his head. Logan was really milking this. He seemed to have a flair for the dramatic.

With Logan's help, the tent was packed up within minutes of Ben finishing his breakfast. Logan actually smiled as they set off, and not a sarcastic smile or a smug one, but a genuine warm smile. Ben saw this and smiled too. Finally he and the illusionist fox were actually getting along, and for a couple hours, he was enjoying his journey. Logan wasn't complaining or insulting him, there was no awkward silence, it was a nice time. He still used Oshawott to battle since he needed the training and Logan didn't, but all was going well. This was what he had been hoping for when he set off.

Logan actually felt sort of happy for once. He felt at peace. He had no desire to be overly violent, or rude, or angry, or anything. He actually was happy to be alive for the first time in what felt like forever. He began to think that maybe this wouldn't be so bad, that maybe, just maybe, he overreacted. Maybe he wouldn't even want to be set free in a few months.

It wouldn't last.

'You're slipping Logan.' Logan's smile dropped. The thought rang out in his head. 'I'm so sick of talking to myself.' He sighed and turned to Ben. "I'm tired. Can you return me for a while?" Ben looked at him, puzzled. He noted the change in behavior, before recalling him. He began to wonder if the vulpine Pokémon perhaps was bipolar.

Logan found himself in the darkness of the Pokeball. He was broken down purely to energy, but to him, it seemed as if his physical body was just floating in the nothingness. He let out another sigh and spoke into the void. "What do you want?" The voice that responded was not heard around him, but in his own head. It was his own voice.

'You can't do this.' Logan knew where this was going. He'd had this train of thought before. He knew what this was about. It was what had been plaguing him and making him wish for death for a long time now. He didn't want to think he was arguing with himself, so he elected to speak aloud instead of thinking his answer. When you think, your emotions are faster than logical thought, so his emotions were what he had been arguing with, what he'd been trying to deal with. He'd tried so hard to keep his emotions in check, to bottle them up, but he just couldn't manage it. "I can do whatever I want. My emotions don't control me, I control them, and therefore you." 'I'm am you dumbass. You can't run from me forever. Sooner or later you'll have to face me.' Logan growled. "I have been facing you. I've been depressed for ages. I want to move on but you just won't go away!" His emotions were quick to reply as always. 'Feeling something and actually facing it are two very different things. You can feel a fear of bugs all you want but that doesn't mean you face the fear. When you face something you confront it!' Logan was a very logical person, so his emotions used logic too, logic Logan couldn't refute. "I'm trying to move on don't you see!? I'm trying to face my fear!" If his emotions could laugh they would. Instead they merely sent words to his brain once again. 'You CAN'T move on until you actually face your emotions! Unless you really face your fear!' Logan became very angry. These conversations never went anywhere. "THEN TELL ME HOW TO DO THAT! I WANT THIS TO BE OVER! I hate being like this! I don't want to be like I am, but it's the only thing that keeps me going. I just can't put it behind me. What I did... I want to be nice so that when I die-" His emotions interrupted him. 'Do you really think that someone like you will go anywhere good when you die? You're a cruel, sadistic, self righteous, arrogant, angry prick! If you don't change you're going to burn for all eternity!' Logan was on the verge of crying. "Then please just tell me how to be better!" He knew the answer that was coming, and he hated it. 'You have to face your fear.'

That was it. Logan yelled in rage and let out a powerful Dark Pulse. "Please, just leave me alone. Leave me to be bitter and sad. I deserve it."

Outside the Pokeball, Ben had no idea the inner turmoil Logan was going through, and he kept going towards Striaton City. His first Gym Battle lay ahead, and he was eager to take it on. First he'd need to catch another Pokémon. He knew about the trio that ran the Gym. You fought the one that held the Type advantage over the starter you chose. A brutal first challenge for a new Trainer to say the least, but he was older and smarter than most new Trainers. He opened the GPS on his phone. "Ok so just east of Striaton is the Dreamyard. The Pokémon there tend to be higher Level so it would be preferable to capture one there. The question is which one? There are the standard Pokémon. Purrloin and Patrat. One of them maybe? Though maybe the rarer Munna would be better, but it's half as common as Purrloin and Patrat and may take too long to find..." He scratched his head with his claws. "What kinds of Moves can these guys learn again?" He rubbed his temple. He had studied Moves, Stats, Types, and all that for over a decade, but now that he was having to put it into actual practice he was unsure of himself. "Ok Ben, calm down. You've studied. You know what to do. Just do it. You've got this."

January 6th, 2019. 8:00 pm.

It was well after dusk when Ben walked into Striaton City. It was larger than Accumula, being at around 1,500 people, but still nothing impressive. Another pretty small place with no major places to eat and shop apart from one or two. He was feeling a bit sleepy having been under the night for a few hours and walking since dawn, but he wasn't ready to get a room at the Center just yet. He headed up to the Dreamyard.

He entered the ruins not long before 9. He wanted to get to bed by 11, so he had about 90 minutes to train Oshawott and hunt for a Munna. He spotted a couple trainers near the entrance to the ruins, but upon spotting that they had two and three Pokeballs respectively, he elected not to challenge them until he'd trained Oshawott a bit more. Oddly enough there was a small tree blocking the entrance. 'Is that why they aren't in the ruins? Really?' Ben sighed and just climbed the fence. He dropped down and wlaked over to where the grass was. It was then he spotted a pair of people wearing those odd uniforms he'd seen the previous day, as well as a Munna between them. He walked up to then. "Team Plasma I believe?" The duo, one male human and one female lynx, spun around to face him.

"What are you doing here?" The wild cat questioned.

"I can ask the same of you. That Munna doesn't look too happy. What are you doing with it?" This time the human answered.

"Why would we ever tell you?" Their position was clear. Ben had no option.

"Well if you won't tell me, it can't be good. So I'm gonna stop you." Ben sent out Oshawott, now Level 13. He was hoping he'd have to fight one and then the other, but they weren't about to let that happen. They both threw their Pokeballs. A Patrat and a Purrloin emerged in front of Oshawott. 'Ok this is bad. Oshawott probably can't take them both at once.' He sighed and grabbed Logan's ball. 'Logan, I need your help here.' He threw the ball and the tall fox materialized. The two Plasma Grunts took a step back. This was way more than their Pokémon could handle.

"Oh it's these dipshits. Let me guess, your pathetic Oshawott couldn't handle itself so now it's up to me." Ben sighed. He was so sure they'd made progress. Now Logan was back to his old self.

"Yes, please. Please don't try to kill their Pokémon."

Both Plasma members were startled and spoke in unison. "KILL!?" They looked to each other and nodded. They recalled their Pokémon and bolted. They cared about their Pokémon, and sending their Pokémon against a Zoroark was basically suicide, especially since the Zoroark apparently had a tendency for murder. The Munna floated over to them and made a noise that Ben assumed was appreciation. It then retreated a bit, before a Musharna, presumably a parent, and they floated off into the darkness together.

Ben faced Logan, and vice versa, Logan's scleras were a bit red. As if he'd been crying. "Logan, we need to talk."


	8. Into the Fire

**Next chapter contains very dark thoughts and actions. If you are offended by such things I advise you skip that chapter. Please and thank you.**

The vulpine huffed and turned away from Ben as he recalled Oshawott. Logan was smart enough to know where this conversation was gonna go. He and Ben had been seeming to get along. Actually there was no 'seeming' about it. They were getting along, and then Logan went into his ball for a bit, and when he came back out he was like this again. "What happened while you were in the Pokeball? I thought we agreed to start over. I thought we were finally gonna work together. What changed?"

Logan sighed and shook his head. He wasn't in the mood for this. He never was. He just wanted to be left alone. "I don't wanna talk about it. Not like it's any of your business anyways." That was his go to when he didn't want to talk to someone. It's not your business. It worked many times, but it wasn't gonna work this time.

"Logan, we're partners." He always used the word partners. It showed equality, not ownership, even though he did legally own Logan. "If something is bothering you, it is my business. I want to help you." He walked up and placed his webbed left hand on Logan's right shoulder. The muscles in that area twitched as he made contact. The contact was a little awkward with how much taller the Zoroark was. He tried to look Logan in the eyes, but the fox turned again to face directly away from him. "Logan, please. Let me help you."

"I don't want any help. You wanna make me happy? Then recall me and leave me alone. I'm not saying another word to you." The tone indeed had a sense of finality. Ben sighed and grabbed Logan's pokeball.

"If you ever wanna talk, I'll listen."

Logan turned into the familiar red energy and was drawn into the ball. Ben checked his phone once he attached the ball to his belt again. He still had about 80 minutes. He walked over to the grass that was within the ruined building, whatever it once was, and began hunting for a Munna. He found many a Purrloin and Patrat. Patrat he had no interest in, and only served as extra training for Oshawott. Purrloin could be a decent addition, but he already had a Dark Type. Though whether said Dark Type would ever listen to him was still up in the air, but he hoped he would. Finally, about seven minutes before he would have headed for the Center, he found what he was looking for. A Munna emerged from the grass. Though still worried about the mental state of his Zoroark, he was happy he found the Pokémon he was looking for.

"A Munna, great! This thing's Hypnosis could be the difference between victory and defeat in that first Gym." Ben had done his research. He knew exactly what was coming when he challenged the Gym. He'd be pitted against a Pansage. The Grass Type would make quick work of Oshawott, and Logan's cooperation was far from guaranteed, so he needed something else, and here was the something else. He sent Oshawott out and told him to go with a Water Gun. If that Munna got it's Hypnosis off before Oshawott did some damage Oshawott may go down before waking. It would depend on how long he remained asleep. That was chance. Ben didn't like chance. So he elected to do damage now in case it started with Hypnosis. Oshawott opened his mouth and spat water at the pink creature. It seemed to hit pretty hard, but the Munna stayed up, which was good in this instance. The Munna pulsed with pink energy, and Oshawott fell over, asleep. "I was afraid of that. Doesn't matter. Another Water Gun may have knocked it out." He pulled an empty Pokeball out of his back and threw it. His aim was true and the ball hit its mark dead on. The Munna was sucked in and the ball began to wiggle. After a few moments it stopped. That was that. "Guess I better enjoy the easy catches while the Pokémon are low leveled. It's gonna get a lot harder as I go."

He quickly read the info that came up, Male, Level 10, Stored Power, Defense Curl, Hypnosis, and Psybeam. He pretty much disregarded the text that told him about him, because it was very late and he needed to get to the Center and get to bed.

He got there almost exactly at his desired time, got his room, and went in. He sent Logan out, but something was very wrong. Logan didn't insult him, he didn't say anything sarcastic, he didn't say anything at all. He just climbed in one of the beds and curled up. This kind of scared Ben, but he put the fears to rest for now. 'Perhaps he's just holding a bit of a grudge. He'll probably be talking again tomorrow.' Ben took his belt off, set it on the counter with the alarm clock, and got in the other bed.

January 7th. 2019. Dawn

Ben woke up expecting some sort of food smell, but he couldn't detect anything. He was sort of puzzled. Logan was always up and eating when he woke up. He looked over at the other bed, and saw that Logan hadn't even woke up yet, or at least he hadn't got out of bed. Ben took the covers off, put his belt on, and shook Logan gently. He was rewarded by Logan looking over to him. "Come on, time for breakfast." Logan gave a small "Hm," but didn't say or do anything else. Ben was a little concerned, but didn't make a big deal of it. 'Maybe he's just sleepy or a little under the weather. I don't want him getting angry at me for making a big deal out of nothing.' Ben waited for the Zoroark to drag himself out of bed, and they walked down to the lobby together. Ben used the nifty waffle maker to, well, make a waffle, and grabbed some sausage. Logan however, just grabbed a couple pieces of bacon. This sort of put Ben at ease. 'If he's not eating he's probably just a bit sick. Maybe he just has an upset stomach.' Logan clearly didn't like people prying in his personal business, so Ben would only do so if absolutely necessary, or when Logan trusted him enough to open up about his past.

Once Ben and Logan had finished eating, Ben spoke to Logan. "So, today I'm just gonna train Munna and Oshawott up a bit to get them ready for the Gym. Anything tou wanna do?" Logan shook his head. "Do you wanna just be left in your Pokeball?"

"Yeah. Sounds good." Logan's voice wasn't as... confident as it usually was, but at least he was talking. Ben withdrew him and put the ball on his belt.

'Must just be sick.'

Ben returned to The Dreamyard and spent the entire day training Oshawott and Munna. Mostly Munna. With Pokémon challenging them near constantly, he was able to get both of his Pokémon to Level 14 before nightfall, even with the trips he had to make to the Center to heal them and replenish their Moves. He decided they were ready to challenge the Striaton Gym once he had healed his Pokémon one last time. He walked up to the building, took a breath, and stepped in. It was time for his first real challenge as a Trainer.

He stepped into the mostly wooden interior. Cilian was not far away, and when he saw Ben, he walked over. The human brushed his apron down and spoke confidently. "Hello. My name is Cilian. Welcome to the Striaton City Gym. Me and my brothers are the leaders here, and judging by the Pokeballs on your belt, you're here to challenge me." Ben nodded with a smile. "Well then. Which starter did you pick?"

"I chose Oshawott."

"Oh, so you'll be battling me then. I'll be waiting at the end of the Gym. You're much older than most of the other challengers so I assume you know how this works. I'll make it quick. Pick the Type with the advantage over the Type you see on the curtains, win the battles against the trainers behind the curtains, and you'll reach us. Beat me, and you get your badge."

"Simple enough. I'll see you then." Cilian nodded and walked towards the back of the Gym. The first curtain was Fire. Ben quickly located the Water pressure pad and stepped on it. The curtain opened and he walked through, where a human waiter was there to battle him. He introduced himself as Maxwell and sent out a Lilipup. Ben sent out Oshawott, and with a simple pair of Water Guns, the Lilipup went down with Oshawott only taking minor damage. Maxwell congratulated Ben on his victory and handed him some money. A Water Type curtain was next, which Ben quickly answered with Grass. The curtain opened and he was greeted by a female ferret waitress named Tia. She sent out a Patrat, which Oshawott felled with a single Water Gun thanks to a critical hit. The Patrat was recalled and replaced by a Purrloin. Knowing that this battle would require a minimum of two Moves baring another crit, he elected to just use another pair of Water Guns so it would only get the one Attack off. It was another minor hit, but Ben sprayed Oshawott down with a Potion to ensure he was in tip top shape before the Gym Leader. Tia handed him his prize money and wished him luck. The final curtain was Grass, which Ben answered correctly with Fire.

"Man this really is a Gym for kids if this is the rite of passage." Ben brushed his fur off with his claws a bit to make sure he looked respectable, then he walked up to the trio of Leaders. Eager to get into his fight, he spoke first. "Ok look, I know who you three are and I know who I'm facing. Can we please just get on with it? I'm itching for this battle!"

Chili chuckled. "You've got some fire in your belly. I like that. Ok Cilian. Take it away."

Cilian stepped up and stood about 15 feet away from Ben. "Well we may already be acquainted, but it's kinda tradition, so. I am Cilian. Grass Type leader of us brothers. Let us test how well you can overcome a Type disadvantage."

Ben bent his knees a bit and sent out Oshawott, knowing Lilipup was the first of the two to come. The small dog Pokémon appeared in front of his sea otter. "Ok Oshawott, this one is all yours." He ran back through a couple things in his head. 'Tail Whip will lower its Physical Defense, but that won't be useful with Water Gun, which gets STAB. Focus Energy will boost critical rate, but Water Gun should only take two hits to take it down.' "Oshawott, kick it off with Water Gun." Oshawott opened its mouth and shot a stream of water which found the Lilipup. The damage seemed pretty significant. Something which Cilian noticed.

"Ok Lilipu, we're probably only gonna get one shot off, so use Bite." The loyal pup closed in and bit down on Oshawott's arm. Oshawott recoiled in pain, but that damage wasn't anything to worry about. Ben ordered a second Water Gun, which put the Lilipup down for the count. Cilian withdrew it. "Now as you probably know, you may switch out now. Pansage is coming up. Wanna switch?"

"Yes I do. Good work Oshawott. You did exactly what I needed." He recalled Oshawott and grabbed Munna's ball. "Ok Munna, win this for us!" He threw it and the floating Psychic emerged onto the battlefield.

"Nice catch. Those things are pretty rare." Ben gave a thank you in reply, before focusing back on the battle. "Ok Pansage, go for Paralysis. Use Lick."

'Uh oh.' Ben had completely neglected to get any Paralyze Heals. Pansage ran forwards and licked Munna. Munna floated backwards a bit before shuddering. Paralyzed. "Crap. Ok. No reason to panic yet. Munna, use Hypnosis." Munna prepared to use the Move, but it froze. It failed to perform the action, and thus it was forfeited. "This is not going well." Cilian then called for a Vine Whip. It dealt a not insignificant amount of damage. "Come on Munna, try to use Hypnosis again." Munna made to use it, and this time was able to get it off. Unfortunately, the Pansage had its eyes closed at the time, so it did nothing. "Shoot!" Pansage was asked to use Vine Whip again, which it did. The Move struck home, and unfortunately for Ben, it did critical damage, and Munna went down. Pansage had not received so much as a scratch. "No! Well, guess it's up to you Oshawott." He knew this was probably futile, but he sent the Water Type out. Pansage was faster and landed another Vine Whip. The double damage Attack finished off Oshawott to Ben's dismay, but not surprise. He grabbed Logan's Pokeball and froze. "I'm not sure if we should continue. This Pokémon is... not nice."

Cilian gave a warm smile. "Oh how bad could it be?"

"Ok, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry."


	9. Surrounded by Darkness

**Reminder from last chapter, this chapter contains dark thoughts and actions. If you are at all sensitive to these subjects, please skip this chapter.**

Logan emerged onto the battlefield without a word. He looked at him opponent. The Pansage looked up at him rather nervously. The tall fox towered over him, and the power difference could be seen just by looking at them.

"Logan, please listen to me. Just use Dark Pulse. You don't need to burn him. Just one hit and it's over." Logan for once didn't offer any protest or arguments. A dark glow formed around his body, and a dark wave of energy shot out from his body. The Pansage was hit, and immediately went down. Logan didn't try to follow up, maul, or kill the Pansage. 'Maybe he's learning?' It was a little anticlimactic, but after the previous times Logan had "battled," Ben would happily take that. Cilan recalled the Pansage and walked up to Ben.

"Well I have no idea where or how you got such a Pokémon so early into your journey, but you won fair and square! Here is your reward for beating the Gym. The Trio Badge!" Cilan placed the tall, slim, tri colored badged into Ben's webbed hand. Ben looked at it happily. 'One down, seven to go.' He opened the badge case he had in his backpack and set the badge in the first slot. "And take this TM. It's for the Move Work Up." He pulled the disk from a pocket in his apron and set that in Ben's hand too, which he placed in the corresponding pouch in his backpack. "Your strategy to beat Pansage was solid. You just got extremely unlucky. If you continue to develop your battling prowess, I predict you'll make it far in this league!"

Cilan extended his hand, which Ben grabbed an shook with gusto. He was on top of the world right now. Sure it was only his first badge, but he'd been waiting so very long to do this. He pumped his fist, thanked Logan for his help, and ran out the door. Logan emerged a minute later. Ben's elated mood did make him show a small smile for a bit.

"So, what's next?" Ben looked back at Logan, beaming with pride.

"Well, it's too late to move on, so we'll heal the rest of the team and rest up at our room in the center for the night, and set off in the morning. Route 3 should only take a day and a few hours to traverse. So let's get back to the center." Logan nodded and the duo returned to the Pokémon Center. They ate a quick meal, Ben bought some Psychic Type Pokechow for Munna from the Mart, and fed Munna and Oshawott too. After that, they returned to their room.

Ben took his backpack and belt off as he usually did, and climbed into the bed, it was getting rather late, and he wanted to get a decent start to tomorrow. He looked over at Logan and noticed something odd. "Where did you get that phone?"

Logan didn't turn to look at him as he answered. "My parents got it for me when I was in High School."

"Not what I meant, I mean where do you keep it? You don't exactly have pockets."

"I keep it in my mane. It may be short by Zoroark standards, but it can still hold a few things. Huh, the Blues actually won today. Don't see that often these days." With that, Logan stored the device back in his mane. Ben had often heard about Zoroark's keeping things in their manes, usually their young, but he'd never actually seen it. Which made sense considering this was the first Zoroark he'd ever seen. It was quite something though. He would never know it was there if he didn't see it do in.

"How do you keep it charged?"

"I knew a Pikachu back on Route 1. Only Electric Type I ever saw there, and I promised him if he charged my phone when I needed it done, he wouldn't be on my menu. He readily agreed to the proposal." Well it may have been unorthodox, but Ben had to admit, it was smart. Ben couldn't help but think that something was off with Logan's current behavior, but maybe he was imagining it. With that, the duo curled up in their respective beds, and went to sleep.

January 8th, 2019. 30 minutes before dawn.

The alarm setting on Ben's phone went off as he'd set it early today. There was something in Route 2 he wanted to get to and enjoy for a while. He looked over and saw that Logan was just sitting in bed. 'What is wrong with you? Why re you just sitting in bed? Why aren't you eating like you did every morning when I met you?' "Morning Logan."

"Mornin." Logan got up and... well he didn't get ready for the day because he didn't need to grab anything. All he needed was his pelt. Ben didn't take much longer to get ready, as all he had to do was brush his teeth and put on his belt and backpack. After that they went down to grab a quick breakfast. Well Ben and the ferals Pokémon did. Logan didn't even attempt to get anything. Ben was very concerned. He asked Logan about it, but all he got was a deadpan, "Not hungry." He didn't hear any growling from Logan's stomach, so maybe he really wasn't hungry and that was it. He elected not to argue about it.

They set out just after sunup. They made their way through the gardens bordering Route 3, which Ben couldn't help but stop and smell a few flowers, and they set out into Route 3. Logan was walking behind him and was thinking hard. 'He cares about you ya know.'

'Yes, I know.'

'You know what's gonna happen right? You're gonna slip. You're gonna put yourself in the same situation as-'

Logan growled quietly. 'Don't you dare mention that! I'm moving on! I'm never allowing myself to go through that again!'

'Hehehe. You think you have a choice.' Logan growled again, which didn't go unnoticed by Ben.

"You ok?" Logan just nodded.

As they travelled, Ben made sure to stick to the tall grass as much as possible. There was one Pokémon that could be found here that he wanted. After a number of battles, with both Munna and Oshawott, since they both needed plenty of training if the Gym battle was any indication, he found what he was looking for. Blitzle. There were two Types Ben preferred above any other. Electric and Steel. He sent Munna out, since Logan would knock it out with his weakest attack, and Oshawott would get fried by whatever Electric Attacks it may have. The Blitzle was way faster and elected to use Tail Whip to start, lowering Munna's guard and making him more susceptible to Physical Attacks. "Start off with Psybeam!" A beam of Psychic energy shot from Munna and landed center of mass on the Blitzle, doing a significant amount of damage. The Blitzle responded with a Quick Attack, which did connect, but even with the lowered Defense, it didn't do a huge amount of damage due to the Level gap. "Ok now let's try a Hypnosis!" A few moments later, Blitzle was asleep. Ben chose to use a Great Ball. He wanted to catch this thing. His arm was good and the zebra-like Pokémon was sucked in, and within a couple seconds, Ben had a Blitzle. "Yes!" Ben checked the Pokedex once it buzzed with new information. "'Its mane shine when it discharges electricity, They use their flashing manes to communicate with one another.' Huh, cool." He sent the sleeping out, used an Awakening, and a Potion, bringing it back to fighting shape. He stepped up to his new partner and stroked his mane as he checked the Moveset. "Ok Level 10, Quick Attack, Tail Whip, and Charge. Though if I remember properly, you can learn Shock Wave at Level 11. You're a cute little guy. Now, let's get you trained up."

Over the next several hours, apart from a quick lunch break, Ben focused largely on his new Blitzle. It had a bit before it caught up, but towards the end of the day, Oshawott and Munna were level 15, and Blitzle was Level 13, and had learned Shock Wave. Which would work well when combined with Charge.

Around an hour before sundown, Ben spotted what he wanted to get to. A large lake. He let out a happy squeaking sound and he ran the rest of the way. Logan ran on all fours and effortlessly kept up. He wasn't even going half speed, a testament to how fast Zoroarks could were. They were built for speed and power.

Once they reached the lake, Ben breathing rather heavily with Logan not even breaking a sweat, which made sense considering canines couldn't sweat, Ben took off his belt and bag. He sent Oshawott out to enjoy the fun. Munna and Blitzle wouldn't like this. Ben and Oshawott dove in head first. Their fur was totally waterproof, and they were made for swimming. Ben was swimming very skillfully. His flexible body twisting and turning with ease. After a couple moments, Logan joined them, after putting his phone in Ben's bag. Whereas Ben used his webbed fingers and streamlined fur to move quickly, Logan used his raw strength. He wasn't quite able to keep pace with Ben, but he was very close. He was no where near as agile though. Ben could turn on a dime, whereas Logan turned more like an aircraft carrier. Before too long, all three of them were laughing and having fun, even Logan. He was actually enjoying himself for the first time in the longest time.

As the sun went down, they elected to get out. As Ben was drying off the top of his fur, he noticed something. "Oh dear lord, what is that smell?"

"Oh yeah wet fox apparently smells a lot like wet dog, so now we have that to enjoy." Logan got on all fours and shook himself violently. He managed to dry a good bit of his fur, but he still smelled terribly. "This is why I don't bathe."

Everyone ate dinner, Logan included, leading Ben to think that Logan was perhaps just not hungry that morning. After that, Ben began setting up camp as Logan finished drying off his fur.

'You slipped. It's too late to go back now.' Logan realized it. He'd let his guard down, and it was indeed too late to go back, or maybe it wasn't. He went to the backpack and fetched his phone, and his bottle of whiskey. Maybe he could forget this. As Ben finished up, he made an illusion of himself go into the tent and curl up to sleep, but in reality, he began drinking, a lot.

Two hours later, the bottle fell from his hand. The bottle, which before he started, was nearly full, was now more than half empty. It was a lot of alcohol, and it had the opposite of the effect he was hoping for. Instead of forgetting what he wanted to forget, he was reminded of why he wanted to forget it. The event that made him behave the way he did. He could hear voices in his head. One of which was his. The other...

Logan had a complete mental breakdown. He was crying his eyes out, and the pain of the memories he'd been trying to bury, pushed him over the edge. His totally inebriated mind lead him to one solution. One that he normally wouldn't consider.

He stumbled into the tent, opened the backpack, and grabbed what he'd been looking for. An Escape Rope.

He stumbled outside, found a tree, threw the rope over a branch about 10 feet off the ground, tied it to the base off the tree, made a loop in the rope, and put it around his neck.


	10. Don't You Give Up On Me

Ben was sound asleep in the tent. He had no idea what was going on just outside of the tent. As far as he was aware, everything was fine. However, what seemed to be fate intervened. 'Wake up.' The voice echoed in his head. He moaned in his sleep. "Five more minnnnn." He rolled over in the sleeping bag. He was very slow to wake up. 'Wake up!' The voice was much louder this time. He jolted awake. "HUH!? WHA!?" Once he calmed down, he was puzzled. Did he actually hear that? If so, where the fuck did that come from? There shouldn't have been anyone here. Not at this time. He was getting ready to go back to sleep, but he decided to take a look around. He unzipped the tent after rubbing his eyes to try and wake up a bit.

Being early winter, the air was quite crisp, but his thick fur kept him warm. He looked around a bit, when he froze at what he saw. His vulpine companion was hanging about a foot off the ground with a rope around his neck, and he was disturbingly still. 'Oh. My God.' Ben was unable to move for a few seconds, but he quickly ran over and put his body under Logan's legs. His body leaned back, putting weight on the back of his neck and on Ben's shoulders. It was much better for weight to be on the back of the neck than on the front, where the windpipe was. Ben threw out Oshawott's ball, and the small sea otter appeared. Upon seeing the situation, he put on a serious face. "Listen Oshawott, I know you don't know Razor Shell yet, but I need you to try and cut this rope with that shell of yours!" Oshawott took the shell off his chest, and hurled it at the rope around Logan's neck. His throw was good, and the sharp object cut into it. It didn't cut clean through, but it was enough to caught it to snap under Logan's weight. Ben was unable to keep Logan from falling back. His head cracked off the ground, which made Ben wince. He knew that couldn't be good, if Logan was still alive that is.

He let go of Logan's legs and let him lay on the ground. He noticed Logan wasn't breathing, but when he put an ear on his chest, he could hear a heartbeat. It wasn't too late. Not quite yet. "Come on Logan. I'm gonna get you through this." He placed his hands on Logan's chest and began pushing down in rhythm. Sure that was made to restart a heartbeat, but maybe it would get his lungs working again too. He placed his mouth over Logan's and blew air into his lungs. He could taste tons of alcohol. He then went back to pressing on his chest to get the air back out. "Don't you dare die on me!" He breathed into his mouth again, and was finally rewarded with a couple coughs and gasps. Ben breathed his own sigh, but in relief. Logan was gonna live.

After a number of minutes, Logan's breath was back to normal, but despite Ben shaking him, he wasn't waking up. "Logan?" He shook him harder.  
Logan?" 'Please don't be...' Logan wasn't dead that was for sure, but if he wasn't waking up... He needed to get to Nacrene City and get Logan to a Center. He recalled Logan back to his ball, which in hindsight, he could've done to get him off the rope, recalled Oshawott, and paced up as quicly as possible. Logan seemed to be in stable condition. The main concern would be food and water. Once he had packed up, he began running, He ignored any wild Pokémon, and trainers once the sun came up, and just kept running.

January 8th, 2019. 8:00 am.

He had to stop many times to catch his breath and drink water, but he made really good time, despite being completely exhausted. He checked the map on his phone with raspy breaths, and located the Center. He burst in, vision blurry, and stumbled to the desk. The Nurse Joy there let him catch his breath. "You ok?" After a couple minutes, he was able to draw enough breath to talk.

"Zoroark… won't wake..." He set Logan's ball on the desk, and collapsed to the ground. The few trainers in the lobby stared a bit, but after a couple minutes they went back to their breakfast. The Nurse handed him a bottle of water, and led him to one of the emergency rooms. Ben sat in one of the chairs in the room as she sent Logan out onto the bed. He was still largely motionless. She hooked him up to a bunch of machines and the sound of a heartbeat monitor filled the room along with Ben's panting. He felt like he was about to puke from overheating. After a couple minutes of catching his breath, he was able to wheeze out the story of what had happened. She looked concerned.

"Well, I have some bad news. There's an abnormally small amount of brain activity, and from a combination of the lack of oxygen, near alcohol poisoning, and the traumatic blow to the head, I'm afraid your partner is most likely in a coma." Ben stopped breathing for a moment. That's what he was afraid of. "Well, you look like you've just run a marathon-" 'Not far from the truth.' Ben thought. "-so why don't we get you checked in to a room and you can take a rest while I run some tests on this guy to see how bad it is. Not all comas are alike."

Ben got checked into a room, where he fed his Pokémon, he always put his Pokémon first, collapsed on the bed after guzzling two bottles of water, and took a few hour nap. He was only able to sleep because of how exhausted he was. The moment he woke up he went down to see the nurse. He found her healing a few Pokémon in that healing machine. He waited until the trainer had left, and approached her. "So, how is he?"

"Well, I ran the Glasgow Coma Scale on him. Since he opened his eyes in response to my voice a few times, can speak with words, but not sentences, and reacted appropriately to pain, he got an 11 on the 15 point scale, of which higher is better. So the coma is moderate, almost minor. He should wake up any minute now. Most comas of this level last less than a day." Ben breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ok good. I was worried, but, what about when he wakes up? I'm sure the alcohol played a major part, but the fact that he attempted suicide... it scares me."

"Yeah, I took that into consideration. He'll be receiving therapy and counselling when he wakes up. I know your job is to be concerned about the health of your Pokémon, but my job is to make sure they're in the best hands they can be." Ben tilted his head in consideration, and then his stomach growled. "Well it sounds like your hungry. Go and get some lunch. If you'll give me your number I can call you when he wakes up." Ben wrote his number down and handed it to her. He spent a few minutes debating if he should just stay here and wait for Logan to wake up, but he decided to trust the nurse. He went out and stopped at a local diner. They had a couple fish Pokémon, so he got that, but really didn't pay attention to the food. He was worried about Logan. How bad of a state was he in that he actually tried to end his own life? What the hell happened to him? Then again, he once mentioned that he did something. What did he do?

After he ate, he returned to the Center, worried that he hadn't received a call yet. He walked up to the desk. The nurse wasn't there, perhaps checking in on Logan. He rang the bell and waited. He checked his phone while he waited for her to come back. 3:30. He'd been in this "moderate" coma for many hours now. It was worrying.

Once the nurse saw him she said, "He hasn't woken up yet. It's a bit puzzling, but it's nothing to worry about yet. Just be patient, and no that isn't a pun. Comas are rather unpredictable. Those scales to determine severity and likely length are more guesses than scientific fact. Just take it easy. I'll keep you posted."

Ben grabbed her arm as she went to walk away. "Can I see him? I just... I wanna make sure he's ok."

She nodded. "That's understandable. Just don't touch the equipment please." Ben promised he wouldn't and followed the nurse to the room he'd left Logan. The fox was almost totally motionless. It scared Ben. He just didn't look right. He had an IV in his hand, where a patch of fur had been shaved off, he had all kinds of pads attached to his head to monitor brain activity, and there was a plastic tube that currently wasn't attached to any part of him. 'Probably a feeding tube. If he can talk they may only put it in his mouth when they need to. Especially if he's supposed to wake up soon.'

He grabbed a chair, which he set next to the bed and leaned forwards. "Hey Logan... you can hear me right?" Logan's eyes shakily opened a bit, before shutting again. "I'm so worried about you. The fact that you tried to... you know... it makes me worried for your safety. I want to help you. When you wake up, please tell me what's wrong. You need help."

"Nnnnn. No..." Logan's single word was awfully quiet. The word concerned Ben even more. No as in he didn't want help? No as in he didn't think he needed it? The word had a few connotations here, but none of them seemed good. He very definitely needed help. 'Maybe this can be good for me. He has expressed desire to kill me. What if he does gain my trust, I release him, and he goes back on his word. I could just leave while he's still in this coma and be away from him. I could crush his Pokeball, he'd be free as he wants, and I could be away from him.' Ben was seriously considering this. It would work out for the both of them. Maybe. 'What if he tries to kill himself again?' After a moment, an extremely cold thought went through his head. It was exceptionally out of character for him to have this thought, but it happened. 'Well, he wouldn't be my Pokémon anymore, so it won't be my responsibility. … I can't believe I just thought that. He's in need. I can't just abandon him. I don't care how much he would want me to.'

Ben made a vow to himself, and to Logan, in his mind that moment. 'Logan, I swear to you. No matter what happens, no matter what the cost is for me, I'm gonna pull you through this. I'm not giving up on you.'


	11. Got to Open My Eyes

**Ok so it's been a while. All I can say is, when you work my job, it gets hectic as hell when Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the holidays in general roll around. It gets very busy, so I've decided to break this story up in "seasons" after each season concludes I'll take some time away from the story to fine tune my planning and decide how I want the time to run. So anyways, onward with season two. Off the top of my head... I'll call this season The Reason. Yeah I know not very good, but I literally came up with it as I typed this so cut me some slack. I'm lazy ok?**

January 9th, 2019. 7:00 am.

Ben woke up and after a quick shower, he hurried to the lobby so he could check on Logan. He SHOULD be awake now. He waited until the Nurse was available, skipping breakfast for the time being, and once she was, he quickly walked up to her. When she saw him, her normally cheerful face dropped. Ben's heart sank. "I'm sorry Ben. He's still in his coma. I don't know why he won't wake up."

Ben sighed sadly. He was hoping Logan would be up and they could begin the process of healing, but it would seem that had to wait. "May I see him at least?" She nodded and simply told him to come and go as he pleased so long as he didn't touch anything. He readily agreed and went to the back to check on the dark vulpine. He was still motionless apart from his breathing. "Hey Logan... it's Ben. I... I just wanted to see you. I hope you're ok... I don't know what it's like for you right now... being like this, but it's not easy on me either. I know I like to say partner around you, but as your... trainer, I'm supposed to protect you as well as help you become better, and I clearly failed if you wanted to take you own life." Ben began to tear up. "I'm sorry Logan... I failed you... I'm sorry."

"Nnnnnnngh not... fault..."

Ben sniffed as his nose started running due to his crying. Was Logan trying to say it wasn't Ben's fault? That seemed most likely. "It is my fault! I know you're hurting, granted I don't know what from, but I know that you're dealing with something very bad. You even told me you want to die, and yet I failed to keep you from hurting yourself! I don't know what you went through, or how bad it was, so I can't rightfully blame you. That means the blame falls to me."

No other words were said. After a few minutes of quiet apart from occasional sobs and sniffs. After a while he excused himself after promising to see Logan again soon.

Ben's POV...

January 9th, 2019. 12:00 pm.

I went out to Route 2 and sat on a bench right before town. I needed to think about how I could help Logan when he came out of his coma, maybe even help him out of it. For a while I didn't even start. I just sat on the bench with my tail curled by my side. I then started crying again. I was a mess. The weight of what burden Logan was carrying was overflowing onto me. 'I don't know what to do! How can I help him when I'm barely holding myself together!? I want to be a good trainer and I'm fucking it up!' With my vision blurred I punched the bench. I didn't even notice the sting in my webbed hand because I was so upset with myself. There had to be something I could do. I need to be there for him now, because he doesn't have anyone. He's alone in this world besides me. He's been alone for a while. Why? Zoroarks are social creatures that live in packs. What has made him want to live such a lonely life? I mean, I know he's not exactly a nice guy... or is he? What was he like between his departure from his family, and when he took up territory in Route 1? Was he more like a normal Zoroark? Kind and caring? Sure Zoroarks killed, but they're carnivores. They need to eat meat to survive, but they never just killed for no reason. In fact they often tried to avoid having to hurt Pokémon, humans, and anthros who trespassed by using their illusions to hide their dens. They were nice Pokémon by nature. Was Logan different as an anthro, or did some external factor twist his personality? I have to find out what happened so that I can help him. For now though, I just need to be there for him. Show him that he can rely on me. It's all that I can do for him right now. When I finally returned to the real world, I noticed it was getting dark.

"Damn I was sitting there for some time."

Logan's POV...

February 1st, 2019. 11:42 am.

I've been sitting here for almost a month now, barely able to communicate with the world outside my head, and only being moved around a bit to keep my blood flowing. Near total isolation, and yet... I don't feel alone. Ben has visited me three times a day each day since... January 9th I think. He talks to me as if I was a friend. Tells me about his day, about the progress of training with the rest of the team. Every single day he talks with me as if... as if I wasn't someone who has mostly threatened him and made his life tougher. Why does he stick by me? Why doesn't he just cut and run? I was pretty sure I wouldn't hear from him again after he informed me he had beaten the Gym here. I was so sure he would leave me. In fact I think part of me was hoping he would just leave me here to rot. That may have been why I hadn't come out of this coma. I felt like I had just given up. I wanted to just lay here and die. Yet... he wouldn't give up on me, even though I had given up on myself.

'He really cares about you ya know. He's worried about you, but he's trying to be tough for you.'

Yeah, I know. I... I'm scared... what if... what if history repeats itself? If that happens again...

'You feel attached to him. I know you do. You tried to put up a front, and yet he managed to get through it.'

Only one of us knows how.

'There is only one of us you fool. I am you.'

Point taken. I just don't know how to deal with this. I've been so mean for so long, that... it's just how I am now... what if it's too late to go back?

I wouldn't receive an answer as Ben came back in. He came in after every meal. He must have just finished lunch.

"Hey Logan. I have great news. I finally came up with a name for Oshawott. Not sure how good it is though. I've gone with Nito Ichi. It's Japanese and it's a two swords fighting style. I know that Oshawott fights with one shell and not two swords, but Dewott uses two shells so I don't think it's THAT bad... it could've been much worse. I got the idea from looking up stuff on my phone."

I wanted to laugh at that. It was certainly unique.

Ben then sighed and stayed quiet for some time before speaking again, this time with notable sorrow in his voice. "You know, I'm really scared that you may never come out of this. I want you up and moving again. I mean I swear I won't leave you no matter how long it takes, but I hope you come out of this soon."

I feel horrible that I'm making him so worried. He's probably been feeling like this since I went into this. I have to make this right! I have to wake up! OPEN YOUR EYES!

Slowly, my eyes opened, and for the first time in a long time, I had control over my body. I turned my head to Ben, who was looking down at the floor. With a raspy voice, I spoke. "Hey, don't beat yourself up."

Having said a full sentence caught Ben's attention, and his eyes widened when he saw me fully awake.


	12. Fight It Out

**Sometimes days off can be quite boring. My entire social life is on my iPad and that only gets me so far some days so yeah, may as well type up a new chapter early. Don't ever get used to this. I wonder how many of you have noticed that every chapter title is song lyrics. This was not intentional at the start, but I learned there was actually a song called The Otter and The Fox, why I don't know, but after that I decided to go with lyric titles. If someone was to get all of the ones in the story, even to this point, I'd be dumbfounded.**

Ben's eyes watered as he saw that Logan was finally awake. Before he could stop himself, he threw his arms around the fox. "You're ok! I'm so happy! I'm so happy!" Logan groaned a bit, still quite stiff from being in a coma for nearly a month. Ben realized this and released his hug. "Sorry. I'm just so glad to see you awake again! I know that we may not get along well, but no one deserves to be stuck like that."

Logan looked down and away. "I do..." This simple statement was actually quite big for Ben, no pun intended. If he said he deserved something bad happening to him, then it was likely that whatever event occurred in his past, he was responsible for. Though for the moment, Ben pushed that to the back of his mind as Logan spoke again. "I'm... not a good... person? Pokémon? Whatever. Point is that I do deserve bad things like this. I don't know why you've stuck by me. I've been almost exclusively a complete asshole to you. How can you sit here and be happy that I'm ok?"

Ben placed his webbed hand on Logan's thigh. "Everyone deserves a second chance Logan. Whether or not you think so, it wouldn't be right of me to just let you die. I'm your trainer, I need to help you be better. Even so, I know there's good in you. No one is beyond help. You can be better, and the first step is to admit that you can be better. Most people, Pokémon, wow that is a tricky one, but most in your situation would think that they were good. The fact that you think otherwise shows that there's hope for you, and I'm gonna help you as much as I can."

Logan didn't have a response to that. He merely pushed Ben's hand off his thigh. "Well... thanks I suppose."

'He doesn't know how to accept help. Who knows how long it's been since someone offered to help him. Though part of that is probably his fault.' "Now come on, let's get you checked out. Think you can walk?"

Logan swung his legs over the side of the bed and gingerly began putting his weight on them. Once he put his full weight on them, he took a step, and stumbled a bit. Though he managed to stay upright. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine. Just get them working again."

"Ok, we'll take the stairs then."

Slowly, the duo began to make their way to the stairs as Logan's room had been on the second floor. This would turn out to be a mistake, as on the first step, Logan's leg cramped up a bit, causing his leg to buckle as his weight was no longer supported, and he fell down the stairs. Letting out a string of furious curses the whole way. "Ah fuck! FUCK! GODDAMNIT FUCKING COCK SUCKING COCK FUCK!" He ended up facedown on the floor. "Dammit!"

Ben ran down the stairs. "Oh good god are you ok!?"

Logan let out a groan that was more annoyed than pained. "Yep, that hurt."

A couple seconds later the Nurse burst through the door. "Who fell!? Oh you're awake. You ok?"

"A little sore and embarrassed but I'll be fine." Logan was helped up by Ben, quite a feat considering the size and weight difference. Zoroarks were very heavy for how thin they were. Their bones were very dense in order to withstand the immense strain they were put under. Zoroarks could propel themselves over 50 feet in the air, which required many tons of force, and the landing also put literal tons of strain on the bones. If they didn't have bones like they did, they would quite literally destroy themselves. So despite their lanky bodies, they were actually quite hefty creatures.

They went to the lobby and Logan was checked out as a patient, and Ben checked out of his room. They were finally going to go to Pinwheel Forest. Ben had taken on the Gym while Logan was out and had managed to win, not easily, but it wasn't a fight to the finish.

After they checked out, and stocked up on food and water, they began heading to the entrance. This took them past the museum, where they heard a familiar voice from someone exiting said museum. "Oh it's... and him."

Ben looked over at the voice and saw N. "Oh hey. It's been some time. How was the museum?"

"Pretty good. Some neat things in there. Though I found myself somewhat unable to concentrate on the exhibits. I've been doing some thinking. Pokémon inside Pokeballs, how trainers are supposed to behave, a future where Pokémon have become perfect... these are all things I think about often. What about you? Do you think of these things too?"

Ben politely shook his head. "No, I don't. I think about here and now, and what I need to do to make my Pokémon, and myself, better. I think that's how it should be."

"Hm. Perhaps I should put you through a test... but... him."

Logan held a hand up. "I just came out of a coma after nearly a month. So I have no desire to fight right now." N normally would've expressed deep concern for a Pokémon going through such a thing, but this Zoroark, he was less than pleased with, so he didn't respond.

"Ok then, let's see how you do. I've been training. It won't be so easy this time." N grabbed a Pokeball and threw it between himself and Ben. A Pidove came out. Ben knew exactly what to do, and sent out Blitzle, who he still hadn't named since he was very bad at naming things.

"I haven't been sitting on my butt either." Ben had been training hard too. Blitzle was up to Level 15 now. "Let's make this quick Blitzle! Use Shcok Wave!" Blitzle's bolt shaped horn took on a yellow glow before a wave of electrivity shot out from his body. It slammed into the small bird and knocked it out immediately.

"Impressive. That was indeed quick. Ok, let's try this." N tossed another Pokeball and a Timburr came out. Ben knew immediately knew what to do. He switched out Blitzle for Munna, now Level 17. N put a hand to his head. This wasn't gonna end well for him. Since his Timburr likely wouldn't survive the Psychic Type Attack that he knew was coming, he called for a Low Kick. He had to try and get some damage in. The Timburr's Attack connected and actually did a respectable amount of damage thanks to his high Attack Stat. Ben however called for a Psybeam. This quickly knocked out N's second Pokémon. "This bodes poorly." N sent out his final Pokémon, a Tympole. N knew where this was going. Ben predictably switched back to Blitzle, and called for another Shockwave. This wasn't gonna end well either. With little fanfare, the Attack was fired and Tympole went down. N gave a sigh. This made twice that Ben had cleaned his clock. "It appears that my friends are not yet strong enough. We need to do better to make the world better for Pokémon, or maybe we just can't solve this problem with brains. Perhaps we need power. Enough to make people agree." He handed Ben the money he was owed for a win, and walked away. As he was walking away he muttered something to himself. Ben wasn't quite able to pick up on it.

"Did you hear what he said?" Ben shook his head. "He said something about the power of Reshiram." Ben's attention was snagged very quickly. "Apparently a Pokémon that helped create Unova along with some sort of hero."

"That can't be good! Reshiram is heralded as god. Unbelievably powerful, near unstoppable!"

"Well if it's a legend then I highly doubt Team Plasma will be able to get their hands on it, so calm down." N became confused by that.

"Team Plasma? You mean N?" Logan shook his head.

"Foxes don't just have better ears and eyes than you otters, we have better noses too. When that Gesis-" Ben corrected him by simply saying Ghestis. "Whatever, when he was talking to the crowd when we first met N, I was able to pick up his scent, and I could smell that on N. Now I passed it off previously as them perhaps having simply spoken shortly before that moment, but I was able to smell Ghestis' scent on him again. He has frequent contact with that guy I'm sure. I'm damn near certain that means he's part of Team Plasma. Maybe some sort of spy or reconnaissance person so he doesn't wear the uniform, but I bet he's in that organization."

Ben looked at N's shrinking figure, now in the distance. "We best keep an eye on him whenever we can"


	13. In the Middle of the Blizzard

**As you are no doubt aware at this point, this will llargely follow the plot of Black and White, but at the same time, due to a certain fox's actions, the way things follow that timeline will be quite different. So don't worry too much about just reading a story version of the game. Some events will also not appear, such as the enconter with Team Plasma in Pinwheel.**

February 1st, 2019. 3:00 pm.

Logan and Ben had just left Nacrene and were heading towards the massive Pinwheel Forest. They had packed very thoroughly as it could take as much as a week to get through the place considering that there was very nasty weather expected over the next few days. As much as 18 inches of snow was expected. This shouldn't have been much of an issue for them. Zoroarks were often native to cold climates, and otters had well over half a million hairs per every square inch of their body. They had absolutely no trouble with cold weather. Which would prove incredibly useful as winter storm coulds were gathering overhead. The wind wasn't very powerful right now, just enough to make some noise and rustle some of the evergreen trees.

They walked in silence as they usually did. There weren't any trainers out with such bad weather in the forecast, and most Pokémon had bed down for the oncoming storm, so it was near silent. However, it was awkward silence, instead of the usual tense silence hey were used to. There used to be a tension between them, as though an argument was always just a couple words from being said. The fact that the feeling of a shouting contest was much more distant was encouraging to the lutrine. It seemed that he was finally starting to gain a certain amount of trust, if not respect, from the illusionist.

It was Ben who eventually broke the silence not long before they reached Pinwheel. "So, let me ask you something. Why were you so adamant about refusing the therapy that was offered to you by that Nurse?" It hadn't even been a conversation. Before they had checked out, she was gonna to ask if Logan would agree to therapy, but the moment she had said the word therapy, Logan immediately dug his heels in and repeatedly said no. He wasn't gonna have it. He wanted nothing to do with it.

"Because I don't want it. I've had therapy before, so I know what would happen. The therapist would ask me questions about my life, trying to gain my trust so I'll tell them my deepest darkest secrets." Well, that kinda was what happened even if his wording was on the derogatory side.

"Why did you have therapy before? Back when you still lived with your parents I assume?" Any information Ben could gather about his past could help him piece together the puzzle.

"I have autism. More specifically I have Aspergers Syndrome." Ben cut in.

"No kidding? Wow so do I." Aspergers was a high functioning form of autism. Some symptoms were standard with autistic people or anthros. Not wanting to be touched, willingly being a social outcast, strange ticks, those kinds of things. Some symptoms however, painted more of a clear picture on just what type of autism this was. A focus on certain topics or subjects, for Ben this was Pokémon, a general aptitude in math and science, and somewhat increased intelligence. The last one was why this was so often misdiagnosed. Autism was largely viewed as something only less intelligent people had. Reflected in what Logan said next.

"So we actually have something in common eh? Color me surprised. Anyways, back when I was still a Zorua, I was incredibly awkward socially. As a kit, I never wanted to be held. I only cried when hungry or needing a change. I was a really easy kit to care for, which I would make up for as I got older. In preschool, I was told I never wanted to talk to anyone, I just stood at the window watching the construction goin on outside. It was around this time that mom and dad knew something was wrong with me. I was taken to the doctor and diagnosed with ADHD. I was given some medication for it, and while it helped with that particular condition, it didn't explain everything about me. Once I entered grade school, I willingly made myself a social outcast. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I just wanted to be left to myself and ignored. For a large portion of grade school, I was. Some kids thought that I was cool/cute. To be fair, Zoruas are pretty much those two things. As I got into 4th and 5th grade, my social awkwardness, high grades, and being an anthro Pokémon bit me hard. I was harshly bullied. Verbally and physically. I was in fights nearly once a week, and because it was a group of kids who made me their target, I lost them all. I was never bloodied or badly bruised, but it was a pretty miserable life. Once I went to middle school, I elected to join a private Catholic School because the faculty there actually give a shit about the health and safety of their students. My unusual behavior continued, and it caught the attention of the school counselor, who was able to correctly diagnose me due to the fact that she had multiple kids with Aspergers. That's when I was given therapy. I never really said much. I tried to avoid the questions because I had learned not to trust people based on some of the people who bullied me when I was younger being a couple of the only people I had once considered friends. I went through middle school, and enrolled in high school where I became somewhat apathetic about school and life in general. Being different, in multiple obvious ways, had ruined most of my childhood. I was the stereotypical Dark Type. Cold and bitter. Then, finally I evolved. Life changed. I became happier. I saw the goodness in life. It was too late to save my youth though. I was 18 and about to graduate, so I maintained my distance from relationships, though most people said congrats when I evolved, which I did appreciate."

Ben whistled. "You know, I didn't ask for you life's story." He had said it in a joking manner.

"Well if I'm gonna be stuck with you I suppose you oughta know." At this time, they had reached the entrance to Pinwheel Forest, and the snow had begun falling hard.

"Well, thank you for sharing that with me. It can't be easy to relieve some of those tougher memories. Some wounds need more than time to heal. One more question. What's up with your mane? I thought maybe you just kept it short, but even in your coma your hair didn't change."

He gave a shrug. "Hell if I know. I had a normal tuft of head fur as a Zorua, but when I evolved, this is how my mane was. I really don't get it either." Ben shrugged one of his own shoulders as if to say, ok then.

Logan exhaled heavily out his snout as they stepped into the dark forest. Light was scarce, which Ben voiced. "Man, pretty dark in here. I know that the sun is behind clouds, but still. It's kinda hard to see." Logan, being a vulpine, had no such trouble. He had fantastic night vision. To him, it was no different than daylight.

The deeper they went into the forest, the harsher to weather got. The snowstorm had well and truly begun as snow was pouring down like rain from a monsoon. It wasn't a white out, but it wasn't that far off. You wouldn't think that the snow would get through the thick canopy of trees, but the winds had kicked up, and while mostly surrounded by tree trunks the wind was so bad to the two on the ground, up higher, the branches were rocking and swaying, which allowed snow that built up on said branches to fall to the ground. Now Logan was having a bit of trouble seeing too. After a little over an hour, with snow starting to pile up on the ground, Ben said it was time to set up camp.

Ben didn't bother trying to set up a fire. It was way too snowy. They just had some deli meat from the backpack, which they didn't have to worry about refrigerating in the winter due to the low temperatures. Logan managed to clear a whole pack of it, before burping in satisfaction. He liked chicken breast.

Ben got to work trying to set up camp as Logan left to take a look around on the off chance they were near any dangerous creatures. He saw a couple prints that seemed to belong to wild cats, no threat whatsoever, but no other meat eaters. When Logan returned, he saw Ben struggling to get the stakes into the frozen ground. Even with a hammer, the otter was having trouble. Logan walked over. "Allow me." Ben took a step back, and Logan just pushed on the top of the stakes. With his unbelievable Zoroark strength, he was able to push them in with relative ease. Ben thanked him and they crawled inside to sleep out the storm.

February 2nd, 2019. Midnight.

Ben woke up. He could tell from the wind still blowing, that the storm was still going on, but that wasn't why he had woken up. He was nice and cozy thanks to his super dense fur and sleeping bag, but next to him he could hear the rapid shaky breathing of a creature that was freezing. Without a large mane to act like a blanket, Logan was freezing while inactive.

"Logan?"

"Y-yes?" He sounded exhausted. Had he slept at all yet?

"You're freezing. Climb into my sleeping bag. It'll keep you warm if we share our body heat, especially in an enclosed object." Normally, Logan would've refused in an instant, but he had lost feeling in his fingers and toes, and was starting to lose feeling in his arms and legs. He crawled over and Ben scooted as far into the edge of the sleeping bag as he could while holding it open. Logan slid into it. Due to him being so tall, he had to curl up to keep from puncturing the bag with his toe claws. The end result was that he was spooning Ben, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be warm. Soon enough, his shivering stopped, and they both drifted off to sleep.

'This is cozy. Logan's fur is so soft. I get the feeling that this will happen more while we're here in Pinwheel. Though I don't mind. This will help us bond.' That was Ben's last thought before he lost consciousness.


	14. Life is in my Hands

**And now we start to get into some of the real reason why this story is rated M. Very graphic violence. If you are at all squeamish, firstly why are you reading this story at all considering I warned you in the description, secondly, you may wanna close your computer, or turn off your mobile device.**

February 2nd, 2019. 7:00 am.

The sun had just began to come up. The snowstorm was at its end, and boy oh boy did it leave its mark. For now however, the two travelers were still curled up in the sleeping bag. Logan, like always, woke up first. His head was in contact with the freezing, but refreshing, morning air. He shivered a bit thanks to his short mane and wriggled a little bit deeper into the sleeping bag. He squeezed the furry mass tighter. 'Wait, I don't own any stuffed animals...' He took his right arm and felt the body. 'Yeah, I'm spooning with another guy aren't I? Oh well, I don't care right now. It's too cold.' Logan wasn't gay or bi. In fact he considered himself asexual. He had no desire for a relationship of any kind. He'd never had sex, nor did he want to, but if he had to pick, he'd take girls any day of the week.

After a few more minutes, Ben yawned and woke up. "Mmmmm. Your fur is so soft Logan. Why is a Pokémon that looks as scary as a Zoroark such a good cuddler?"

"And I'm getting out." Logan crawled out of the sleeping bag quickly. Nearly slicing the bag open with his razor-like claws. His body hit the near 0 degree air and he felt the breath leave his body. It was a weird effect that he'd felt when he'd gone from warm air to cold air quickly. He wasn't sure if it was specific to him or if it happened to everyone. "Don't ever pretend I did that out of affection. Ever."

'And he's back.' Ben crawled out of the sleeping bag too and stretched his body and tail out. He reached out to unzip the tent once he had finished. The moment the zipper was undone, snow poured into the tent, and nearly buried him. Which Logan found hilarious. A couple seconds later, Ben's head poked out of the snow pile. There was snow on his nose and head, which he shook off. "I'll get the snow out of here, see if you can get it off the rest of the tent."

Logan crawled out of the tent and looked around. He would've given a whistle if he could. Firstly, he didn't know how to, and secondly, lips as thin as the ones you find on his species weren't good at it anyways. There was at least 18 inches of snow on the ground. The tent was almost completely buried, and it was almost up to Logan's thighs, and this fox had some very long legs. "Quite a bit of the white stuff huh? No biggie. I've got this." Logan opened his mouth and used Flamethrower. The snow in the way of the flames began to visibly melt as he kept the flames pouring out for as long as he could. He paused to take a breath. He had already melted a small part of the snow around the tent down to the ground. Fortunately the water kept the tent from bursting into flames from the heat, though he made sure the flames themselves didn't touch the tent. He repeated the process until he'd melted a near perfect circle around the tent. He breathed out heavily a couple times. He had to hold his breath while using that Attack and he had just used it something like 10 times in quick succession. Ben had cleaned out the inside of the tent and was starting to take the tarp stakes out of the ground when Logan finished.

"Excellent work Logan. Take an Ether out of my bag." Logan fetched it and ingested it. His usage of the Fire Type Move was restored. As Ben kept taking the tent down, Logan began to walk around. He closed his eyes and focused with his nose and ears. He sniffed over and over. Searching. Ben took note of this and watched him, now paying more attention to the dark fox than taking down the tent. Logan got down on all fours and slowly crawled through the snow. He'd found something. After a number of moments he froze. He lowered himself to the ground, before pushing off. He went almost straight up, tucked his legs into his chest, and dove face first into the snow. His head and arms disappeared and his feet ended up in the air. Despite how scary Zoroarks looked, Ben couldn't help but find that action super adorable. After a few moments, Logan's head broke through the surface of the snow. A Tympole was wriggling and writhing in his maw. He bit down and it ceased moving. It wasn't uncommon for Water Types to come onto land in either heavy rain or snow. This one had stumbled upon a very dangerous predator, and it cost it its life. Logan held it in his clawed hands and began tearing chunks off it and swallowing them.

"Mmmmm. Been a long time since I sunk my teeth into some proper flesh. Good to satisfy that predator urge to hunt." Ben seemed slightly disgusted, and returned to taking the tent back down. After he had done that, Logan had finished eating. Ben fished some jerky out of his backpack and began his own breakfast. The fruit would all be frozen so he wouldn't be eating that. "Looks like it's gonna be a tough hike." Ben nodded but said they needed to get moving. "Yeah I get you. Back when I was a Zorua I had to wade through snow that went up this high on my legs, and man it was work, but since I evolved my legs have gotten... I dunno, 20 times stronger? This will be a breeze for me. When I said tough hike, I meant for you." Ben supposed that was fair. Zoroarks were insanely powerful.

This would prove to be true as Logan had no issue pushing through the thick snow, but Ben was struggling. Otters weren't exactly weak, but water, which is what snow was, was quite heavy, but this was water that Ben couldn't swim through. They had to stop a couple times before 2 pm. Logan didn't mind the breaks at all. In order to keep warm when they stopped, he breathed a few puffs of fire. At 2 however, Ben would get to see something he wished he hadn't.

As Ben was catching his breath, Logan suddenly turned his head. "Do you hear that?" Ben looked around and replied with a no. "It sounds like... a lot of footsteps. Quadrupedal footsteps."

"HELP! SOMEBODY!" A male voice pierced the air, and he sounded desperate.

"Ok I heard that! Logan try to find out what's going on!" Ben was always ready to help someone in need, and for once, Logan was ready to listen to him as he leapt up and grabbed a sturdy tree branch. He hauled himself up onto it and crouched to keep his balance. He used his sharp vulpine eyes to look around from this good vantage point.

"Someone's being chased by wolves! 100 yards or so to my 1 o'clock!"

Ben was quick to act. "Go help him! I'll be right behind you!" Logan leapt down and began jumping towards the human or anthro being chased. In just three leaps he had them within a dozen feet. The male was human, about 5'7 and likely with a trim build, but it was hard to tell with his thick clothing. The thick red jacket and pants stood out. Probably to ensure if a hunter saw him he wouldn't be shot.

"Hey, get over here!" The human spotted him and ran over as quickly as he could. He was totally out of breath by the time he got over. "My trainer is behind me. Go to him. I'll handle this." Logan began walking towards the pack of wolves coming his way. They were struggling to get through the snow themselves it was so deep. Probably the only reason the human had managed to last this long. Once he got far enough away from the human, he used a Dark Pulse to clear away the snow around him. The wolves quickly surrounded him. Now choosing to try to get him. Wolves normally didn't bother humans or predatory Pokémon unless they were defending their territory, or starving. These ones were starving. "Oh no, what ever shall I do?" Logan's voice was clearly sarcastic. "I don't even need my illusions for this one." A large black wolf joined the edge of the circle just in front of Logan. "You must be the daddy wolf. This should be entertaining."

The large male wolf growled at him. Logan heard movement behind him and immediately knew what was happening. He spun around and caught the wolf that charged him on his claws and ripped it in two. Blood and organs littered the ground. Logan spun back around as he knew the next wolf would be trying to get him from behind while he was distracted.

At this point, Ben got through the snow and within eyesight of the Zoroark, and the human. "Thank whatever deity above that you two found me!" He collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. Ben looked out at his Pokémon. He had ducked under a second wolf and his punch to its chest caused the sound of breaking bones to reach Ben's ears. The wolf was propelled into the air and landed motionless on the ground with blood coming out of its mouth thanks to punctured lungs. Ben covered his mouth at the brutality of the blow. Logan's ears picked up two more wolves coming at him from his direct left and right. He stuck his claws out and impaled both the wolves' chests, before slamming their heads together. Their heads virtually exploded with bone fragments and brain matter going everywhere. Logan smiled. Ben nearly wretched. The human stared in shock. The remaining half a dozen wolves charged him at once. Logan fired off a Dark Pulse and then charged the father wolf down. He tackled it and cut its throat open. Blood sprayed onto his face as the wolf quickly lost consciousness. He turned around to face the other wolves, who lost their nerve and turned to run. He walked back to the human and Ben as if nothing had happened. Ben was horrified, but couldn't help but be impressed about Logan's powers of destruction.

The human slowly regained his nerve and faced the blood, and organ, covered Zoroark. "Th- thank you. You saved my life. You, you're a good man."

Logan just shook his head. "I'm not the kind of Pokémon to help people. Not usually, and as you can see from the condition of those bodies, I'm not that nice the few times to do help."

"You still saved me. So thank you." He fished his wallet out and handed Logan two $100 bills. "Here. Take it. You earned it." Logan gestured for him to hand it to Ben, which he did. "I'm gonna head back to Nacrene. Thanks again."

With that, he began walking back the way Logan and Ben had come from.

'Logan... you... what was that? That was horrifying to watch.'


	15. The Ice is Melting

As the human left eye and earshot, Ben faced his companion. The blood and guts on his fur really made the monster part of the phrase pocket monster stand out. Even more so when he began to clean his fur by licking the blood off. 'I know he's a predator, but, that's still very disturbing.' Logan pulled off what seemed to be part of a small intestine and tossed it over his shoulder like it was a piece of string. "I can tell that my current appearance and actions disturb you. Unfortunately, this is how things work in the wild. I've cleaned myself of blood this way many times. Not like there's any other way of me cleaning off. Even if there was an unfrozen lake around, it's too cold to clean myself with water. The blood also can provide a temporary source of water when it's scarce. Many animals and Pokémon rely on that to live. It ain't pretty, but that's how things go sometimes."

This slightly put Ben at ease. but he was still disturbed by the viciousness of Logan's kills. "Did you have to be that brutal about the kills? They were just hungry ya know?" The quick and violent disposal of the wolves was very shocking for someone like Ben. For the first time, but for just a little bit, he saw Logan, not as a creature close to human, or as a soul in need, but as something else that applied to him. A vulpine killing machine.

"They tried to kill me, so I killed them as quickly as I could. The violent nature of those kills ensured they were quick. You can't show mercy upon creatures trying to kill you, because I can guaran-damn-tee that they won't show mercy to you. Maybe I could've disguised myself, but if I don't use myself as bait there then they would've gone after the human, and you. Like it or not, I'm your partner, my job is to protect you."

Ben's heart skipped a beat. Did Logan just say he would protect him? He didn't get threatened or insulted? "Logan... what did... where is this coming from?"

Logan stopped cleaning his fur and looked away. "It's... complicated. I don't... like when people..." Ben had never seen Logan so unsure of himself. He always had an air of confidence around him, and his actions were always done with certainty. He didn't stutter, he didn't second guess himself. He just acted. That's how he had always been. 'So why now do you seem so vulnerable? Does this have something to do with your past?' Ben was pretty sure that it did. He didn't like to talk about it. It was the only thing that ever gave him pause that Ben had seen. "... You've been nice to me Ben... despite my actions, you've been nice. You care about me, when I don't care about myself. … It would be a shame to lose such a person. There isn't enough kindness in this world when there's people like me."

Ben thought for a moment, considering his next words carefully. "Logan, you recognize your faults. That's more than a lot of people. You can make yourself better. I believe in you." Despite his blood covered pelt, Ben knew what he had to do when Logan's eyes began to glisten with tears. He walked up to the Zoroark and hugged him. Logan stared at him. Unsure of what to do. He had never been hugged by anyone or anything outside of family members, and it had been years since he had been hugged by one of them. He wasn't used to affection, especially physical affection.

"Ben..."

Ben released his hug. He only got a small bit of blood on himself. "Come on Logan. Let's keep moving." Ben then fished a water bottle out of his bag and poured it over the blood on his fur. The waterproof coat allowed the blood and water to slide right off with little trouble, while keeping him from getting cold. Ben kept walking, but Logan stood still for a few more moments before following. He continued to clean the blood off of himself, but he wasn't thinking about that. He was wondering about what had just occurred.

'I've been so mean to him... why does he care for me so much? Why does he continue to stand by me? I've tried so hard to push him away... and yet... I... I feel... attached. I care about him... I tried so hard to avoid this... what if... what if it happens again?' Logan thought back to that night... when the kindness in him vanished. The moment that even a year later, he had nightmares about. He would've woken up in a cold sweat if canids had sweat glands. 'I'm so conflicted. What if it happens again? Can I still push him away? Should I do everything in my power to help him and damn my worries? What the hell do I do?' Logan grit his teeth, which had the effect of him biting his tongue as he was still cleaning his fur. He let out a slight yip, which Ben noticed.

"Everything ok?"

"I bit my tongue. Nothing to worry about." 'He's so caring... why did I have to meet him? I don't deserve to know him. Someone else who is kind should be in my position.' He shook his head violently. 'Damn it! Why did things have to get complicated!? I was supposed to be a cruel bastard for the rest of my life and nobody would want to be close to me! It was supposed to be so simple! Live and die alone! That's what I was supposed to do, and what I deserve! So why is he here!?'

"Logan?" Logan's eyes snapped up to Ben. "You've been licking yourself for a while now. You know that you're clean now right?"

Logan sighed. "I've just... got a lot on my mind."

'Come on Logan, let me in.' "Do you wanna talk about it?" Logan was silent. He seemed to be debating about what to say. 'Come on... I want to help you.'

After a while, Logan shook his head. "No... not yet... I just... I don't know if I can go through it again... it's... it's not a pleasant story... I want to forget, so much. I can't forget it, but I can't go through it again."

Ben was disappointed that he didn't get an answer, but he could tell, he was getting close. 'Just a little bit more. I'm almost through that shell of yours. At least part of it.' "It's ok Logan. If you want to tell me, you will. If not, I respect your privacy. If you want to open up, that's fine. If you don't want to, then that's fine too. Whatever your choice, I'll respect it."

"Let's... let's just keep going. I wanna get off this topic. It brings up a lot of bad." Ben didn't know what Logan would reveal to him, if he indeed decided to tell him, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid of what it could be? 'What did you do?' Another thing he asked himself, but quickly dismissed, was if he would be able to be... friends seemed a bit of a strong word at this moment, acquaintances, with Logan when and if he was told. What if he was a murderer? Did he violate someone? What was so bad that he was so scarred by it. He was able to put that question to bed due to Logan's recent behavior. He showed remorse, and that he wasn't good. 'Maybe he wasn't raised right and he didn't know better, and when he learned better, he felt awful. I should ask, but I don't want to dig. He'll tell me what he wants to when he wants to. It's my job to be supportive of my Pokémon, and help make them better. Not to pry into their personal lives.'

They kept going in silence. Neither of them knew what to do after that exchange. The warm sun began to melt some, not a lot, but some, of the snow. This encouraged a couple Pokémon to come out. So they had some battles. Ben rotated who fought them based by Type Advantages and how many battles each of them had in an effort to get them all a decent amount of Exp. After many hours of walking, the sun began to set behind the tall trees, taking away the light sooner than normal. Ben asked Logan to clear an area of snow, which he did with a Dark Pulse since he didn't have to worry about destroying the tent this time, and Ben began to set it up. Logan actually helped this time. They got it set up and crawled inside. Ben rolled out a blanket to make the ground feel softer, and the sleeping bag. He then hung a lantern from the roof of the tent and pulled out a deck of cards.

"Wanna play some poker?"

Logan tilted his head for a moment, before answering. "Ok. I'm in."

They used beef jerky as chips. Whoever won got the extra snack. Logan dealt first, not being able to shuffle properly, partly because he had claws instead of fingers, and partly because he just sucked at it. He elected to pull cards out and mix them in with the others. He looked at his two cards. A five of hearts, and a 6 of spades. They weren't high cards, but they were right next to each other. Good start for a straight. They both checked, and Logan dealt the Flop. A four, seven, and ten of clubs came out. 'Good for me so far. Just need one more.' Logan bet two sticks, which was matched by Ben. He dealt the turn. An eight of spades. Logan had his straight. Since no two cards out there were the same yet, it would be a miracle for Ben to have a three of a kind, but even if he did, a straight beat it. He bet five sticks, again, matched. 'Perhaps he does have three of a kind. Doesn't matter though.' Logan dealt the river. A king of diamonds. Logan bet another three sticks. Trying to not scare Ben off. It was matched. Logan flipped over his cards. "Straight. Four through eight."

Ben then showed his cards. A two and jack of clubs. "Flush. Clubs."

"FUCK!" Just like that, Logan lost half his "chips."

It only took five more hands before Logan was out. He either had shit hands, or Ben would win with a better one. "You are so fucking lucky."

Ben just gave a sheepish smile. After which he yawned. "Well, I think it's about time we get some sleep." He crawled into the sleeping bag and held it open. "It's not gonna be any warmer tonight Logan. Get in." Logan hesitated for a moment, but he knew Ben was right. He crawled in and curled up against Ben. Soon after, they fell asleep.


	16. Break The Ice Now

**Well, after my X-Box got fried by lightning, for the second time in half a year, I said fuck the X-Box considering it got cooked even with a surge protector. So I gots me a Switch, and yeah, fuck you Microsoft. Never gonna pick up an X-Box ever again. The Switch is too cool.**

February 7th, 2019. 7:00 pm.

It had indeed taken a full week to get through Pinwheel Forest due to the snow. It melted a little bit every day, but not enough to make a huge difference. Still, it wasn't a big deal to either Logan or Ben. Ben had managed to get in some decent training when the Pokémon came out to find food once the snow had sufficiently melted. For an entire day and a half he had focused on nothing but training to make up for the lack of it in the previous days. He had managed to get Nito Ichi up to Level 24, Blitzle to Level 22, and had it learn Flame Charge, replacing Tail Whip, and Munna to Level 23, replacing Defense Curl with Moonlight. As they walked onto the massive Skyarrow Bridge he began to think about strategies to win in the coming Bug Type Gym. Munna was going to not participate unless he needed to as Bug Types would take him down rather quickly. Nito would be up to the task so long as the Bug Types didn't have too many Grass Type Moves. He didn't want to use Logan unless it was necessary because, although the Pokémon and trainers they were encountering were catching up, Logan still held an overwhelming advantage, especially with his Flamethrower in this case. Blitzle with Flame Charge would be a great choice, and so he decided he would lead with him. They traveled down the bridge, and stepped into the huge city. Bustling with people and skyscrapers, this was truly a huge city. Hundreds of thousands of people called it home. Simply traversing the city could take days without a car.

Logan coughed a few times as they entered. "This is one of the reasons why I don't like cities. The air sucks." The air did indeed have a sort of car exhaust smell to it as people drove to and from pretty much everywhere, and with so many cars in such a small space, morning smog wasn't uncommon.

"Yes, it is not the clean and clear air we've been breathing in Pinwheel for the last week. Though city life has certain charms. The food for one thing. You have so many kinds of restaurants to pick from. In the last three towns we've been to we've had fast food and mom and pop places. Here we can have something a bit better. Which is what I suggest we do first. I'm starved."

Logan broke out into a smile at the mention of food. His stomach had been growling for a couple hours now. "I like either Asian or Unovan food. What all do we have?" Both of them pulled out their phones as they travelled along the sidewalk. The sidewalk was mostly empty. It was a lot more busy in the evening and mornings as people who could walk to and from work did. Logan looked for Unovan style cuisine like steakhouses, while Ben began to search for Asian food like you saw in Jhoto and Kanto. "Nah. No. That's Italian. Pass."

""How about Shogun's? It's a hibachi place."

Logan's stomach answered before he did by giving an audible growl. "That would be a yes. How far is it?"

Ben checked the distance. "About a mile down this road." Before he looked up from his phone, he found himself on top of Logan. The Zoroark had crawled under Ben's legs and gotten to all fours with Ben's legs just behind his shoulders.

"Hold on tight. We'll be there in about three minutes if not less. Logan began bounding forwards. Ben was jolted back with how quickly Logan had accelerated. He was glad he had taken Logan's advice. Before he knew it, the scenery around them began to rush by. Logan was doing at LEAST 25. He was still probably taking it easy. True to his word, less than three minutes later, they had arrived. The distinct cat statues told them this was indeed the right place. Logan knelt down and allowed Ben to get off. Ben was amazed that Logan had not only let that happen, but actually started it. Perhaps food had something to do with it, but perhaps not. They walked into the decorative building. Darkly colored to give a more sophisticated and serious feel. This place was expensive and they wanted you to know it.

The female anthro tuxedo cat looked to them and smiled. "Hello and welcome to Shogun's. Two of you?" They nodded. "Hibachi or table?" Logan looked to Ben with a pleading look. Despite the vicious visage that Zoroak's had, it was kinda cute with those ocean blue eyes. Ben let out a sarcastic sigh and smiled.

"Hibachi please." Logan's face beamed with happiness He loved this kind of experience. They were sat with five others, a family of humans. Logan gave a short look at the menu before picking what he wanted. Ben decided on the hibachi shrimp. It was then Ben noticed the price. $20 for hibachi shrimp. Oof. This was gonna hurt, but, Logan looked happy. He was sure if the fox still had a tail like his prevolved form, it would be wagging like crazy. They got their drinks, as well as a miso soup and salad. Logan slurped down the soup rather rudely. "Logan, I know you lived in the wild for over two years, but at least try to be polite please?" Logan rolled his eyes and pushed the salad away. 'Foxes are definitely not into greens.' Ben himself didn't eat much of the salad, but did enjoy the tasty miso. When the waiter came back, they ordered their drinks and food. Logan asked for double fried rice with no vegetables, no surprise at all on the vegetables, and hibachi chicken. Also known as a fox's favorite protein.

Eventually the chef came out. A lynx. Ben began to wonder if everyone here was a feline since their waiter was a panther. He began to put on his show. His dexterity with his hands as he juggled the tools was remarkable, and that he was able to juggle an egg on a metal spatula showed how well trained he was in precision. He made the traditional onion volcano by stacking the rings, which Logan commented to Ben that he couldn't do that with his hands, let alone with a spatula and... whatever that other thing was called with the two points. After that he began cooking up the rice. After he began, he grabbed a bottle filled with sake and after lightning the grill on fire, offered it to the parents of the family, neither of which took any, to Ben, who took a little bit of it, and to Logan, who opened his mouth and began gulping it down with his mouth open as the chef kept spraying it. After a full ten seconds, he waved his hand over his throat indicating to stop. Logan shook his head and gave a satisfied ah. Ben leaned over. "Aren't you underage?"

"They don't know."

Soon enough, they chef put the vegetables on, but separate from the rice, and offered to try and toss one into each person's mouth. None of the humans managed to catch it, Ben got close, but wasn't able to grab it. Logan had no trouble considering how wide his long muzzle could open. Soon enough they were given their rice, Logan was given his first as his didn't have vegetables, and immediately he began to devour it. Ben wondered if he was part wolf with how quickly he was downing it. Soon enough, their main courses were cooked up and served as the chef had finished his show and was now focused solely on cooking. Logan's chicken, and Ben's shrimp, were covered in a tangy teryiaki, and even Ben couldn't help eating it a bit quickly. Once Logan finished, he was of course the first one done, he gave a loud and satisfied burp, which the kids eating with them laughed at. Ben elbowed him in the ribs.

Ben was given the check and his eyes nearly watered from the pain of his wallet. $45 for two people to eat. 'Well, Logan definitely enjoyed himself, and it was delicious and it was a good show.' Ben payed the check and the tip, which pushed the bill over 50, and they left happy, and Ben a bit lighter in the wallet. Logan had a distinct spring in his step and a smile on his face. Ben decided that the cost was worth it as he had never seen Logan so happy before, and with how much he seemed to beat himself up, he bet it had been years since Logan was this happy. "You seem happy."

He burped again and rubbed his gut. "Well that's because I am. Damn that's good stuff. Ya know, I like you."

Ben couldn't help but smile at the happy fox. 'I think I've finally gotten through.'

A couple hours later, they arrived at a Pokémon Center and got a room. They laid out on their beds and Ben could tell Logan was thinking as he had been unusually quiet for the last 20 minutes. "Ben?" He gave a noise of acknowledgement. "You've asked me before what happened in my past that... made me the way I am... I... I think it's time I tell you. I trust you." Ben sat up as the Zoroark leaned back against the wall. "I warn you... it's... it's dark. I... I just hope that you won't judge me too harshly for this. For what I did. It happened a little over a year ago."


	17. One of Us is Going Down

**The next few chapters will be told from Logan's POV as this is a memory if his. For those of you who think Logan will just become nice after this, yeah you're wrong. He's still gonna be rude and crude. He's been like that for a long time. It ain't gonna just go away. Also, fair warning, this flashback, in case you couldn't tell from the story so far, it is not gonna end well. Just a warning.**

Flashback

December 28th, 2017. 7:15 am.

I think it's important to lay out the context of everything that happened to me on these days in my past. So I feel it prudent to start when I woke up... I remember everything.

I had just woken up. The air was its usual crisp morning winter air. It was cold, but I could handle it. I lived out of a cave. It went pretty deep. Around 150 feet in. It kept me shielded from the worst of the cold, and the wind especially. I'd also laid out the furs of a few animals I'd hunted in case it ever got cold enough for me to need a blanket. I even had a small fire pit inside for when I wanted cooked meat. I'd occupied the territory since I had left home. It was a nice one too. Around a mile and a bit in radius. I patrolled it every few days and remarked it. Yes, I did pee to mark it sometimes. It's just something us canids do sometimes. Anyways, I stretched out and walked out with a yawn. My belly growled and so I decided to go out and hunt right away and remark the territory later. My territory included the edge of a large lake under a cliff, and part of the forest that was at its elevation. I decided to go there and get some fish. It was only about a ten minute walk. I got there, took a drink, and then I waded out to an area where there was a bit of a drop off. I stuck my claws in the water and used my illusions to make them seem like worms. I stayed still and after a couple moments, a large mouth bass bit one of my claws. I pulled it out and stabbed the fish through the head with my other hand. Basically skewering it. It was a decent fish, and would fill my belly. Though since I don't like sushi, I took it back to my cave. I scaled it outside with my claws to ensure that my floor stayed clean. I laid it on a smooth stone inside I had picked up to lay out meat for drying purposes. I gathered some firewood and, using my Flamethrower Attack, lit the fire pit. I jammed a stick through the fish and began to cook it over the fire. It was a few minutes, but I cooked it thoroughly. Once I had done that, I took it back outside, cut the fish in half and began to take the bones out. It took some time, and I didn't get them all, but enough that I only had one or two that I had to spit out as I began eating once I had done that. Fish wasn't my favorite, and it took some time to prepare, but I like to vary my diet.

Once I had eaten, I went out to the edges of my territory to patrol and remark. I didn't usually bump into anything, in fact it was pretty rare, but it did happen. Even when it did happen, the Pokémon that saw me quickly backed off. Zoroarks are not a Pokémon you mess with. We're insanely strong, can use illusions so realistic that sometimes they can be felt, and are very protecting of our territory and pack. They didn't know if I had a pack or not, but either way, they didn't want to go into my territory to find out. So I wasn't really nervous about bumping into anything. Zoroarks are apex predators. With one notable exception. Lucarios. While our illusions are undeniably fantastic, a Lucario's aura sight could see right through them as no matter how real our illusions are, we can't make them real. Aura is only exuded by living things. So they could see right through any tricks we come up with. I knew this, but I had never seen a Lucario in the wild. Even so, they almost always had a strong sense of justice. They almost never went around looking for fights. Almost never.

"Hello foxy." A relatively deep male voice caused my head to snap to the right. Leaning against a tree was indeed a Lucario. The first thing I noticed about him was the top couple inches of his right ear had been cut clean off. The second thing I noticed about him was how well kept his fur was. No tangles or signs of wear and tear. He probably was around my age, at least comparatively since he was a feral and I was an anthro. Call it a hunter's instinct, but I could also tell he was looking for trouble. That didn't mean I gave it to him right off the bat.

"Hello there. You looking for something? This is my territory so forgive me for being suspicious." He stood up and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a good fight. I haven't had one in a long time." While I don't think he was technically lying, I don't think that was the beginning and end of it. I think he was looking for his own territory, and he definitely had no qualms about taking what he wanted. Upon hearing that response, I got into a fighting position. I didn't bother using illusions. As I said, he could see right through them if he wanted. He got into a fighting stance of his own. We stood like that for a bit, and I couldn't help my legs shaking a bit. I'd never actually had to fight off an invader, and now I was gonna have to fight off my species' greatest rival. Now something to note, this was not the kind of Pokémon battle that trainers participate in. We weren't gonna take turns and not try to avoid Attacks. This was a real fight.

Once he had sized me up, he charged me with a Force Palm. I sidestepped it and delivered a punch to the side of his head. Normally that would be in instant kill with how strong my kind are, but Lucario's can take a hit of that magnitude. He recovered before I could follow it up with a punch to my gut. I staggered backwards and doubled over. Zoroarks can't take a beating like a Lucario can, and in terms of physical strength, a Lucario at my Level would actually have a slight edge in power. As I would learn quickly, they were naturally good martial artists. He swept my legs out from under me before I could recover from the gut punch, and as I was falling back, he delivered a powerful kick to my spine. I was sent pretty far up in the air as my body locked up from that shot. It was only due to our species dense bone structure that I wasn't paralyzed. I landed on the ground in severe pain. He stood there on one leg in a taunting pose. He was a better fighter, he knew it, and I knew it. He let me get to my hindlegs. I stumbled a bit, but decided to try and hit him with a Flamethrower. He didn't seem to be expecting that from a wild Zoroark as he only held his arms up to try to mitigate the damage instead of getting out of the way. He was a bit well done, but he was still up. "Now that was surprising, but rest assured, now that I know you have that, you won't get me with it again. Now come on. Come die by my paws."

He wanted me to fight him up close as he held the advantage. He was tougher and a better fighter. I wouldn't have a chance. So I fired off a Dark Pulse. It wouldn't do much damage, but ranged Attacks and Speed were my advantages over him. This is how it went when Zoroarks and Lucarios clashed. Lucarios could hit harder with physical strength and were tougher, but in terms of agility and ranged strength, Zoroarks had the edge. The one who was a better fighter would almost always win. Unfortunately for me, this went to him. He leapt over my Dark Pulse and fired an Aura Sphere at me. I knew what this was. Trying to avoid it was futile. So I just stood there and deadpanned. "Oh yeah, this is gonna hurt."

It connected square with my chest and I ended up with my back against a tree. I was in serious pain, and trying to stand was difficult. I didn't get to stand up though as he shot his leg into my left arm with all his strength. There was a loud crack as the bones in my wrist broke in half. I screamed as loud as I could as the most intense pain I'd ever felt wracked my body. I don't know how long it was before I stopped screaming, but I looked through my blurry tears at the Lucario's legs. "This was almost too easy. I was hoping that you'd at least make this fun. Oh well." He held his right paw out and another Aura Sphere began to form. This one aimed right at my head. In desperation, I grabbed some dirt in my right hand and flung it in his eyes. His Aura Sphere went away as his paws shot to his face. I didn't know if he had mastered aura sight, he wasn't that old so maybe he hadn't, but I took the precious moments it bought me to run away. I sprinted away as fast as I could on my hindlegs. I think it was around noon when I stopped running. I had put many miles between myself and now former territory. I sat down and began to contemplate my next move. Where would I set up my next territory? How far should I go from my old one? Would he come after me to finish the job? How long will this arm take to heal? It wasn't long before my ears picked up the sounds of crying. Then I met someone who... I wish I'd never met. Even more so than the Lucario that had just kicked my ass.


	18. I Had a Heart Then

**Shorter one today. This is a buildup to the end of this flashback. I don't have the attention span to mash this into one chapter. I have Aspergers so I have the attention spam of a gold fish. Not much I can do about that.**

Once I had regained my senses and stop panicking, I began to search for the source of the crying sound. I weaved around a few of the trees as I followed the sound with my vulpine ears. I parted some brush with my good, unbroken arm, and revealed a Purrloin. Female from what I could smell. She was facing the base of a cliff and was... is the word mewling? Whatever it is that cats do when they're sad. The first thing that came to mind was food. This would be an easy kill. I was down an arm for at least a month or so, and I had just burned a lot of energy running for that long. Yet my sense of mercy managed to override that train of thought.

"You really shouldn't make so much noise. You never know what kinds of predators you may attract the attention of." The cat had jumped and stood on all fours to face me the moment she heard my voice. "Relax. I'm not gonna hurt ya. Just curious what you're doing here all alone. Where are your parents?" She seemed young. She was definitely not old enough to be on her own. Something was wrong, but I couldn't piece it together. Then again, I had very little of the information. It was like trying to finish a puzzle without the box to use as a guide. What you think I'd waste my time doing a puzzle the normal way? Do you know anything about me at all?

"I-I was out p-playing and a pack of H-Houndooms p-pushed me off this c-cliff a-and my parents are up thereandI'msoscaredthatImayneverseethemagain!" Yep, she was in a near catatonic state. No that wasn't an intentional pun but you can take it that way if you want. I wondered for a moment how she survived when I looked up. That cliff was at least 200 feet. Then again, the evergreen trees would help slow her fall, and she was a feline. They could fall from some extremely dizzying heights without getting hurt.

I debated what to say next for a bit. I definitely had my own problems to deal with. I had a broken arm, I'd just gotten chased out of my territory, and I had no idea where I was. I was scared. With the pain that my arm was causing, it would be some time, at least three weeks, before I could use my illusions again. Zoroarks can't use illusions when they're in pain. So survival should've been the first thing on my mind. However, Zoroarks are kind creatures, and that won with the thought that maybe the parents would give me a place to rest and recover for returning their daughter to them. "I'll take you home." She looked up at me with a sliver of hope in her teary eyes. "Do you know where I could get to your parents' territory from here?"

She sniffed. "Y-Yes, but it's a ways. At least a day." Normally I could just run that distance in maybe ten hours, but with my arm the way it was, running would be impossible because of how much it would hurt my arm with all the jostling.

"Ok then. Climb onto my head. We'll make better time if you ride on me." I knelt down and she hoped up onto my laps before springing onto my neck, and then walking onto my mane and kneading the fluff to make it comfortable for herself.

"Your arm... are you sure you're ok for this?" The fellow Dark Type was understandably concerned for my safety. If I fell, she wouldn't be far behind.

"I am absolutely not ok, but there's nothing I can do about it besides make a splint. I'll make that as I walk."

The feline told me which direction to start going, and I did. As I walked, I began collecting leaves from some of the stubborn berry bushes that refused to die in the cold. These usually produced berries Ice Types preferred. I did munch on some of those to regain my energy. Though the Oran and Sitrus Berries that would accelerate my recovery were all dead and gone this time of year. I'd have to wait out the full recovery time. Eventually I found a stick long, thick, and straight enough to hold my arm steady. I told her I was gonna stop for a minute to dress my wound. I held my thigh in a way the stick would lay flat and not move. Using my good dominant arm, as well as some tricky maneuvering, I managed to tie the leaves together enough to fashion a small makeshift rope. I wrapped it around the stick, made sure the bones were lined up, took a breath, and yanked it tight around the broken arm. I groaned loudly in pain, but this would keep the bones in place and allow them to heal better.

With the bad arm handled as well as I could, I resumed walking. Again I grabbed berries off of whatever bushes I walked by that had them. I gave a couple to her as well when I hear her stomach growl. She was being surprisingly strong about this. She wasn't complaining, and she had stopped crying. I asked her for her name. "It's Lavender. Yours?"

"It's Logan." We began to share stories, being much older I had many more, but I was able to gain a decent amount of information about her. She was an adventurous soul. The kind of child who, if you told them not to do something, all it did was guarantee that they would do it. Like all Purrloin's she had a bit of a thieving streak, but all she did was take a berry here or there when she was hungry. Usually by charming her way in. She told me stories of some of the Pokémon she had suckered into unknowingly letting her steal from them, and I found myself laughing at her antics. She reminded me of myself when I was a Zorua before I went to school. We were pranksters and often relied on cuteness to get away with it even when caught. I felt a sort of kinship with her despite not sharing any blood with her.

We had reached the foot of the trail that would eventually allow us to reach her home after the sun had gone down. I had just stopped to find a secluded spot to sleep. "No, keep going a little more. There's a really cool spot I wanna show you!" I was gonna ask what she kind of spot this was, but knowing what children were like, she'd just say it was really cool again. So I continued to follow her directions. Eventually I heard running water. A lot of it. I stepped out of the forest and emerged onto a lake that was nearly as large as the one in my now former territory. Across the lake I could see a small 20 foot waterfall. Also, the water seemed to be steaming slightly.

"Welcome to the hot springs! This is my favorite place for my parents to take me when we leave our territory!" I was curious as to why they would ever leave their territory, but she probably bugged them enough that they would take her out every now and then to explore while keeping an eye on her. The pain in my arm was momentarily forgotten, not gone, but forgotten, as I looked over this little slice of heaven. "Wait until morning when we have time to enjoy it! For now though-" She yawned audibly, "we should get some sleep. There's a small cave behind the waterfall that should be empty. I've never seen anything go in or out of it. I don't know if anything else has seen it."

I walked around the lake, enjoying the warm air radiating off of it, and came up to the waterfall. Indeed, just behind it, I saw a cave opening. It wasn't very big, or very deep, but it would comfortably hold me and Lavender for the night. I didn't need to use any furs to soften my sleep this time. I had had one hell of a day and wanted nothing more than sleep. I curled up, and Lavender did the same on my mane. Cats could be very small when they curled up, and she was able to hold herself on my head comfortably again. "Night Lavender."

"Goodnight Logan."


	19. This Can't be Happening to Me

**Warning, dark.**

December 29th, 2017. 7:00 am.

My sleep had not been constant. Many times when I shifted in my sleep I was woken by the pain in my broken arm. When it came time to actually get up, it was very hard to do so. Lavender however hopped on my head a couple times to "help" me with that. "Come on sleepyhead! Wake up and check out the hot springs!" The heat from the place had kept the air in the cave comfortably warm. I yawned widely and loudly, but got up. I stepped groggily out if the cave and looked out at the hot springs. They were a nice clear blue you could feel the steam in your nose. It was quite nice. "Hop in!" Lavender leapt off my head and landed in the water with a small splash. She surfaced and shook her head off. "This is water even a cat like me can enjoy!"

The little feline was full of energy. I didn't jump in because it would cause a lot of pain for my arm, but I did step in and walk into a part where the water reached my neck. It was pleasantly warm and soothed my muscles, and helped numb the pain in my broken arm a little bit. "Mmmm. This does feel quite nice." The cat swam over to me and I could tell she was probably gonna splash me based on the playful look on her face. I took the initiative and ran my good arm over the surface of the water, creating a small wave that covered even her head. She shook herself off again and stuck her tongue out."

"Meanie!"

"Don't pretend that you weren't gonna do the same." She gave an innocent smile, but I wasn't falling for it. I was like that as a kid. I knew all the tricks and had used them myself. She shrugged her shoulders and began swimming around. I waded over to the side, one that was sort of like a pool in that it went straight up to the surface. It was shallow enough that I was able to sit down, and so I did. I leaned back a little bit, and before I knew it, my eyes had shut.

"Wakey wakey." My eyes opened and I looked around. The Purrloin was sitting on the edge of the water and was looking at me. "You looked so peaceful while you were sleeping. I just couldn't wake you, but I went and got breakfast." She had a small pile of berries next to her. There were even a couple Oran Berries that, upon looking around more, seemed to manage to grow around this hot spring even now due to the warm air. I hadn't realized I had nodded off. Looking up at the sun, I could see it was around midday. I stood up with a stretch and stepped out of the water. I shook myself off, but not too vigorously so as not to disturb my arm. I sat down next to her and began to eat the berries she had brought me. She looked up at me and began purring. I reached down and gently scratched her ear. She pressed her head into it and then began rubbing my leg with her body.

After a few minutes of petting her and eating, she climbed back onto my head and we set off. She reached down and began to scratch at my left ear in return. I smiled and kept walking. "So Logan, due to this delayed start, we'll probably arrive at my territory around midnight." I gave a nod and said that was ok. Then, her voice turned serious. "So, one thing of note. That pack of Houndooms that forced me off the cliff, we have to pass through their territory."

"I see. Well that shouldn't be that much of a problem so long as they aren't patrolling that area of the territory."

"Logan, there's something I want you to promise me. I've seen those Houndooms hunting their prey. They're very vicious. They don't wait for their victim to die before they start eating. No matter what happens, don't let them get me alive."

The tone of her voice told me what she meant. I was surprised by her taking about such a mature topic. She didn't want to be killed by the Houndooms because of how much it would hurt and how long it would take. If there was no other option, she wanted me to take her like quickly and painlessly. "I promise. They won't get you."

We kept walking without interruption until the sun began to go down. We had started going up and I could smell Houndoom piss on the wind. We were getting close to their territory. There was a very steep incline to our right, and our left began to become an increasingly tall cliff. I could tell the moment we passed by the border to their territory because their scent became stronger. I spoke softly to her. "Keep quiet. We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves."

We, I, continued to walk, I tried to stay low to lower how visible I would be. After some time, it had become dusk. Daylight would be gone soon. Which was fine for us since feline and canine eyes were excellent at night. I began to think that we would get through without any trouble, I heard a loud howl not far from us, followed by one on the opposite side of me.

"Well shit." I deadpanned. Before I could do anything, we were surrounded by the fire wolves. I used Hone Claws preemptively to give me as much of an edge as I could. My claws temporarily hardened and I became more focused. A large female stood in front of me.

"There's no way a vulpine like yourself couldn't smell that this territory was taken. So why are you here, and why are you with her?" Yeah this was gonna end with a fight. She was very confrontational. I wanted to at least try to talk my way out of this, but with what happened with the Lucario the previous day, yeah I had little hope in that.

"Just taking her home. Nothing bad. Just passing through."

"So you thought that after we tried to kill her, that bringing her back here wouldn't piss us off? Are you stupid?" She did have a point. Predators tended to not be forgiving to other predators no matter how young they were. They were always a potential danger to their territory when they grew up.

"No. The plan was that we'd pass through without you lot ever knowing we were here. Clearly that plan failed. Look I don't want any trouble. Just let us by and you'll never see me again. I promise." I lowered my voice to where only Lavender could hear me. "Hold on tight. This is gonna be rough." She tightened her grip on my mane.

"You're right. We won't ever see you again. You're both gonna die right here. GET THEM!" With the kill order given, I had no choice but to fight my way out. These weren't like the wolves I fought back in Pinwheel. They all attacked at once. I sent out a Dark Pulse from my body which pushed them all back. It didn't deal much damage, but it bought me some time. I picked one of them out and charged them. I delivered a slash across their neck which quickly led to them bleeding out. Now while my left arm may not have been working, both my legs were. I could hear at least two of them not far behind me and I leapt up. I hadn't been able to see how many there had been before the fight started, but I'm pretty sure there were at least a dozen of them. I had to stay defensive and take any chance to even the odds. I dropped down and landed on one of their backs. My weight coming down with so much force broke their spine and they were rendered incapacitated. I could feel heat moving towards me and I leapt to my right to avoid the Attack. By now they had all recovered from being thrown to the ground, or into trees, and came at me again. I fired off another Dark Pulse, but some of them were ready this time and those that were didn't get thrown to the ground again. Four of them closed in on me. Two in front, one to my left, and one to my right. I ran forwards and my claws glowed brightly with Fury Swipes. One of them blew fire at me, I slid under it and jammed them into its chin. As I pulled them out, the other bit into my hip. I yelled in pain before I stabbed it too. I got up and launched the one that had bit me at one of the other two. I then charged the other one. If I could use my illusions this could've all been avoided, but that broken arm still plagued me. This one also blew flames at me, and this time aimed it closer to the ground so I couldn't go under it. I took the hit but pushed through it. I cut its neck open too. Before I could gain my bearings, I felt a bite on my left leg. This one was quite powerful and it had sunk all the way down to the bone. The large female had managed to get her teeth into me. Crippling me further. I poked her in the eyes with my claws. Hopefully leaving her alive but crippled would allow me to have some leverage over the others. She howled in pain and let go. I grabbed her and showed her to the other Houndooms. "If you don't stop and let me go, your leader dies!" I made sure to keep my claws locked over her jaws to ensure she couldn't speak. They all stopped and looked to each other. The path behind us was clear, and that is where we needed to go. "I'm gonna set her down a hundred yards away. Count to 50 once I have and then you can come get her. Do we understand each other?" They nodded. Knowing if they didn't comply, she was done for.

I slowly stepped backwards, limping on my left leg. I wasn't far from passing out from my injuries and blood loss. I needed to get away. Once I got to about a hundred yards from them, I subtly hit her head against a tree to knock her out, ensuring it would be some time before she could order them to chase us, and then set her down. I kept my eyes on them, and they didn't move. I turned and began to hobble away. "Logan? Are you ok? You're bleeding a lot!"

"I'll be fine, probably. How much further?"

"Juse a few miles. You can make it!"

I continued going as fast as I could. I hardly used my left leg, which continued to bleed. My vision was becoming blurry as storm clouds began to gather. An hour after the fight, the storm started with a loud crack of thunder and a sudden downpouring of rain. "I... I don't know if... if I can keep going. I... I can't feel my leg."

"Come on Logan! It's just a little further, you can do it!" A few seconds later, we heard a rustling not too far behind us. I froze and turned my head. Lavender voiced my thoughts for me. "It's them!"

"What do we do?" I was completely out of ideas. I didn't know of any ways to buy time, and with my leg, I wouldn't be able to outrun them.

"Logan... you remember the promise you made... right?" My body shook as I fought back tears. I remembered. I nodded "Logan, please... I don't want..." Tears began to fall from my eyes. I had grown to care about her over these last couple days. I genuinely felt a bond. I don't know if it's because Purrloins were like Zoruas, or if I had just latched onto her emotionally after what I had gone through the day before, but I felt attached to her. Yet, I made a promise. My word meant something. If I made a promise, I kept it. No matter what. I put my claws against her chin.

"I'm sorry Lavender... I failed you... I'm... I'm sorry." I pushed my claws into her chin and into her brain. She went limp and fell to the ground... That was it... she was gone... I heard the rustling again, very close. I had to hide. I spotted a tree and staggered over to it. Using what little strength I had, I leapt up and managed to get myself on a sturdy branch that would hold my weight as my vision began to fade. The last thing I saw was a pair of figures approaching Lavender's body... They didn't look like Houndooms.

I woke up morning the next day. I looked at my leg and found that the wound had closed. It still hurt like a bitch, but I was no longer in immediate danger of dying. I groaned and dropped to the ground. My right leg took most of the impact. I looked over to where I had taken Lavender's life, and saw she wasn't there. Nothing was there. No body, no bones, nothing. I couldn't help but take a look. I labored over and managed to get there. I then noticed some prints on the ground. They were sort of faded from the rain, but I could tell that these were feline prints... Pokémon feline prints... I came to a realization that tore my heart out.

I had made a horrible mistake... Lavender's parents... her rescue... it had only been seconds away... and I killed her... an innocent child, and I killed her. I fell to my knees, and I let out a scream of pure agony as pain ripped through my heart.

**And this is the end of Season 2 of The Otter and The Fox. Why, exactly, this has altered Logan's behavior so much will be laid out clearly in the next chapter. Until then I do have one other thing I'm going to post on a game I've been playing recently. It's a one shot but depending on how well it does I may make it a full story. It's not exactly a well known game though so I'm not gonna hold my breath. So until next time, I'll be seein ya.**


	20. Between the Dark and Light

**Ok, let's get started with the next season. Fated. This will start to open up more into the relationship between Logan and Ben, and Logan's attempts to change his ways, as well as his hesitancy to do so, for reasons that will be explained now.**

February 7th, 2019. 10:30 pm.

As Logan finished telling the story, tears were quite clearly falling from his eyes. His breath was coming out heavy, and his voice was shaky. He felt as if it was happening all over again. Killing someone who he had grown to care about after the traumatic experience of getting beaten out of his territory and nearly dying. "A- after that, I gathered up whatever food I could find, and then I just ran. I didn't know or care where I was going... I just wanted to run away. I think I ran all the way to Lostlorn before I stopped, and by then I was so exhausted I just fainted. When I came to, and calmed down, I made a decision. I would never go through that pain again. I would never go through the misery of losing someone I care for again, and I knew just how to do it. From that day forwards, I acted horribly to everyone and everything I met. I made myself so unappealing to be around that no one would ever want to be friends with me. Over time, me acting that way, changed my personality to where that's just how I was. It became a way of life. I took to heading to Route 1 as I believed I would never get thrown out of my territory again because the Pokémon there were so weak. Then, well, you know the rest." Ben looked at him, his own eyes glistening. That was a very dark story. It made him feel very sorry for the fox in front of him. Without hesitation he threw his arms out and hugged the anthro Pokémon. Logan's breath caught in his throat for a moment. "Wh- what are you..."

"I can't imagine how hard it would be to do that, and for a Zoroark, that had to have been much worse. I wouldn't say that condones what you've done, but I think it can be... understood. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Logan looked down at Ben for a moment, and then pushed him away. "Don't apologize. I'm the one who did it all. I do not need nor want your pity." Just like that, he had gone from being vulnerable, to going back to his "usual" self. He didn't like feeling vulnerable. The moment he realized he had let his guard down, he put it right back up. What Ben had done with Logan so far was the metaphorical equivalent of drilling through the ice around his heart, but he had only cleared one small section. He still had a lot of ice to get through before he had the "real" Logan entirely exposed.

"I can still feel bad for you, and I do. I want to help you."

Logan showed his teeth, but Ben was now sure this was more bark than bite. "I don't want your help. Goodnight." With that, Logan crawled under the covers of the bed he was sitting on, and turned the light off. Ben sighed and did the same with his bed.

'You say you don't want help, but I think that's a façade. You just don't want to get close.'

February 8th, 2019. 7:00 am.

Ben woke up to the smell of sausage. He looked over to see Logan eating sausage links and the meat of biscuits much like he had once before, but this time the buns were neatly thrown into the trash, and Ben even found a few intact biscuits on the table by the beds. "I got you breakfast. Don't thank me, it's nothing." Ben looked at the food next to him and picked it up.

"Thank y-"

"I said don't thank me." Ben knew what he said, but after so long of not being shown kindness, granted a large part of this was due to his own actions, but Logan would need this kindness if he was to get any better. Ben ate relatively quickly and they left the room. Ben was eager to challenge the next gym. Perhaps a bit too eager, as not long after they left, Ben realized something.

"Oh shit, I forgot my backpack! Wait here! I need to go get it!" Ben didn't wait for a response as he ran back into the hotel. Logan stood there for a few moments, before he heard a voice that he knew.

"Logan? Logan is that you?" Logan looked over and saw a Pikachu sitting on a bench. His rather short vulpine ears perked up a small bit as he recognized this Pikachu. He walked over and sat next to him. It had been a while since he used Pokespeak, but it WAS his first language, with English following close behind, so he still knew it.

"What are you doing here Chuck?"

"Ah I got captured. There's a reason why Pokémon not normally native to a Route don't tend to stay there long. A lot of people start gunning for you. Trainer is using the restroom right ow. What about you? Why are you here?"

Logan gave a small huff. "I got caught too." Chuck opened his mouth, but Logan shut him down quickly. "Don't say a fucking word. Anyways, you seem much braver. Normally you wouldn't say a word to me unless I asked you a question. Largely because I threatened your life if you annoyed me. What's changed?"

"Well having a trainer has really given me a lot of confidence as I've gotten stronger. Anything can change. Us Pokémon know that better than anyone."

Logan gave a sigh and looked down at the ground. "I haven't changed. Not a bit. I'm still a bad man." This caused Chuck to put on a more serious face, and he placed one of his paws on Logan's knee.

"Just because you haven't changed, that doesn't mean you never will. You're still young. You've got plenty of time." This prompted another sigh from Logan.

"I made an attempt on my life last month after I got drunk. I should be dead already."

"Listen... Logan... I know you. No matter what happens, you'll face it like a warrior. That's what you are, and you know it."

Logan picked his head up enough to look Chuck in the eyes, a feat for someone with Autism. "That's all I am. It's all I'll ever be. A fighter, and a killer."

"Well then so be it. Live your way, and die your way. Just make sure of one thing. Don't compromise. Do what makes you happy first and foremost. Make a choice, and stick with it." Logan took a deep breath. This was a problem for him. He didn't know what would make him happy anymore. He thought being alone would, and yet he couldn't deny that he'd become somewhat attached to Ben, and enjoyed his company. Speaking of Ben, he'd finally retrieved his backpack. When he saw Logan, looking down as he was, he decided to just get him and go.

"Come on Logan, we've got some ground to cover before we reach then gym." With that, Logan gave Chuck a small wave, and then got up to join his trainer.

'Don't compromise huh? Do what makes me happy first? What does make me happy? Have I really allowed myself to become so twisted that I don't even know what makes me happy anymore?' He shook his head. 'Just forget it. Focus on the here and now.'

The walk to the gym was quite a hike. This city was massive, and with all the traffic, it took even longer. It had been an hour, and they could now see the gym in the distance. However, a loud yell caught their attention. "SOMEONE HELP! THAT MAN JUST STOLE MY PURSE!" It was an older lady from the sounds of it, and Logan's sharp vulpine eyes caught sight of an anthro white fox likely in his mid 30s running away from said voice. Nobody around did anything due to the Bystander Effect. They all assumed someone else would do something since there were so many other people around. No one did though, except for one. Logan's eyes locked onto the other fox, and he bolted towards him on all fours. He wasn't holding back now, and his powerful limbs propelled him forwards to his top speed quite quickly. Logan nearly collided with several people as he ran, and the only reason he didn't was due to his kind's high Speed stat. It didn't just make him faster, it enhanced his reflexes. He did bump a couple, but lightly enough that he didn't knock them over. The scenery around him was a blur as he locked onto his target, who saw him, and ducked into an alleyway. Logan reached it just a couple seconds behind him. He sprinted forwards, breath heavy, heart pounding, and got behind him. He flicked his right hand forwards and tripped the fox up. He faceplanted, and the purse fell to the ground. The would be criminal rolled over and wiped his face of the gavel and blood. Logan stood over him.

"H-Hey man I-I was just kidding. Really. No need to get violent!"

Logan grabbed the scruff on his chest and yanked him off the ground to eye level. "Oh there is plenty of need to get violent. This isn't the wild. You don't get to prey on innocent people here. Maybe I need to forcibly teach you that lesson" Logan pulled his right hand back, curled into a fist.

"LOGAN STOP!" Logan's eyes snapped over. Ben had caught up and was looking at Logan with pleading eyes. "You don't have to do this. Just stop. He's caught."

Logan looked at the fox, who had pulled his knees up to his chest in fear, despite being help in the air. Logan let out a sigh, before shoving him muzzle first into the wall next to him. "He's unconscious, but he's gonna have a hell of a headache in the police station." Logan let his unconscious body fall to the ground. Ben let out a sigh. He'd gotten through to him in time. Ben gave a quick call to the police, who said they'd have someone there in a few minutes, and they left the alley once Logan assured Ben he'd be out for a couple hours at least. They then located the elderly human and gave her the purse back.

"Oh my, thank you nice young men!" She looked to Logan. "You especially. You're such a kind soul."

Logan shook his head. "I know nothing about kindness. I don't deserve your thanks."

She gave his arm a squeeze. "Don't be so hard on yourself. A bad person wouldn't have given chase so quickly." This was answered with a small sigh from Logan.

"Well, maybe you're right. Still, you don't know me. Ben's the nice one. Thank him."

She turned to his lutrine owner and extended a hand, which Ben shook. "Of course. A Pokémon like this must have a kind trainer. Thank you so much." She reached into her wallet and handed Ben a hundred. "Both of you, thank you for your kindness."

With that, they parted ways. Ben thought to himself. 'She's right. Logan acted without hesitation. No bad person would do that. There's no doubting that there's good in you.'


	21. Fuck! You! With a Fucking Anchor!

**Ok so let's get rid of this announcement. *Rips a piece of paper off the wall* Let's start this fire for these big beautiful steam engines, and let's get this ship moving again. For those of you who have only recently found this story, you probably don't know what I'm talking about, so I'll expalin since I have now deleted the previous "chapter," as it is no longer relevant. Due to bad scenarios and a general apathy towards life, I did put the story on hiatus, with no idea when or if it would resume, so I decided to let it be known instead of just going dark, but I finally got some good news, which dispelled a good ammount of my despair, and I feel good enough to at least continue this. Now as you'll notice here, Team Plasma can be a bit more forceful here than in the games. So without further adieu, let's get going. And yes, the chapter title here is a song lyric like the rest. That is a lyric.**

After dealing with the attempted robber, Logan and Ben continued on, and eventually reached the building they were looking for. The Castelia City Gym. The Bug Type Gym would hopefully not prove much of a challenge with Blitzle having Flame Charge. Ben had hoped to get a bit more training done, but he felt confident enough to challenge. "So is this number three right?" Ben nodded. "I may have to start training again. Can't let your Pokémon catch me." Ben just rolled his eyes as Logan was back to his standard sarcastic self. His personality could change on a dime. It was almost as if he had split personalities. Another quick shift in personality happened as the door to the Gym burst open, and smacked Logan right on his nose. He staggered back a couple steps before wiping his nose with the back of his hand. He noted the red color on his fur. He was bleeding. He growled and looked at the man who had rushed through with such haste. He was mostly dressed in green and red with a scarf on.

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry about that! I've just been told that a Pokémon was stolen by a Tea Plasma member on Prime Pier and so I'm trying to get there as soon as possible. I'm afraid your Gym Battle will have to wait."

Ben spoke up after putting an hand on Logan's shoulder. "We'll accompany you. Just to make sure everything is ok. This guy is pretty powerful after all." Ben did this to stoke Logan's ego a bit and get him focused on something besides murdering the Gym Leader.

"Great! Now please come with me!" With that, he took off and flagged down a taxi. He climbed into the front passenger seat as Logan and Ben got in the back. The driver was a badger male, who didn't even get to ask where to before Burgh told him to get to Prime Pier as fast as possible. Soon enough, they had reached their destination after a little over an hour. Pretty good time for a city. Burgh shoved some bills into the driver's hand, not bothering to get any change back, and they got out.

Each pier was a sight to behold. Several large ships docked, and off in the distance, Logan could see what looked like Guided Missile Destroyers and Cruisers. There was definitely a Naval Base in this city. It made sense as this was a very major port area. Plenty of dock space for both civilian, commercial, and military vessels. You likely wouldn't see any Aircraft Carriers though. Those things only needed to dock once every few years thanks to their nuclear reactors, and spent most of their time at sea on patrols and showing off to Unova's allies that they had a very powerful ally that would come protect them if need be.

Prime Pier was mostly commercial, but a section had already been blocked off by police tape. There were some officers looking around as a young human girl was crying on a bench in the blocked off area. Likely the victim. "Hopefully we can get a description from the little girl. That's so low of them. Taking from one so young. When I find the person who did it..." Burgh was quite clearly angry.

Logan chimed in. "Like we're gonna find them. I'm sure Team Plasma has some kind of secret base around here and what kind of stupid retard would come back to the scene of the crime wearing-"

"Oh shit!"

They all turned to face the voice behind them. It was a male mouse wearing a Team Plasma outfit. "This stupid retard apparently." The mouse tried to run, but he didn't get more than a hundred feet before the swift Zoroark had tacked him. His somewhat heavy frame hitting as hard as it did knocked the wind out of the rodent. He didn't catch his breath until Ben and Burgh caught up. Logan flipped him onto his back and held his right fist above the mouse's head. "You're the one who took the kid's Pokémon right?" No answer. Logan responded to the silence with a punch that drew blood, and knocked out one of his back teeth. "Right?" For once, Ben had no qualms about Logan's methods. Robbing children is beyond sympathy.

He spat some blood off to the side. He didn't want to spit in the face of a pissed off Zoroark. "Yes."

"Why the hell did you come back here you stupid bastard?" Logan really did want to know why he came back. He was home free. Why the hell did he return to the scene of the crime? Why didn't he at least change his clothes?

"I thought because it went so well the first time I could do it again." Logan rolled his eyes.

"That is retarded. Now where is the Pokémon?"

"I don't have it."

Logan socked him in the face again. This time knocking out one of his big front teeth. He coughed a couple times before Logan spoke again. "That's not the answer I was looking for and you know it. Where is it?"

The mouse wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he answered. "We have a base of operations in the city. The Pokémon is there." Logan punched him again.

"Don't withhold information! You know I want the location!" Blood was pouring out of his mouth now after three punches from a Zoroark. Granted, Logan was only using a fraction of his full strength, but still, these were extremely powerful punches.

"Let me up and I'll tell you ok?" Logan pulled back to seemingly deliver another punch, only to relish in the mouse's heavy flinching. He was loving how much control he had here, and how little Ben was protesting his methods.

"You're in no position to bargain you moron. I hold all the cards here, and I'm getting sick of you wasting my time." Logan then kicked his interrogation up a level. He unclenched his fist, and lowered his index claw. It ended up hovering just above the mouse's right eye. "Next time you don't tell me what I want to know, the eye comes out. Got it?" Ben and Burgh seemed a little uncomfortable at this point, but still didn't intervene.

The mouse began to panic. "Ok ok! It's just across from the Gym! The Pokémon is there I swear it!"

Logan had a look of disbelief on his muzzle. "Are you serious? Someone in a position of power in your team was so braindead that they had a base put in right across from the worst place you could possibly have it apart from maybe the police station?" The mouse nodded violently. Logan held his claw in position, before getting off the mouse, but not letting him go as he yanked him to his feet. Remembering that there were police at Prime Pier, Logan drug him over to the pier, before shoving him down the stairs. Not as in he tumbled down. As in he didn't touch anything until he reached the bottom. This would end up being very bad for him, as his left hand landed first, instinctively trying to catch himself. There was a loud snap as his wrist broke. He started screaming, which attracted the attention of everyone there. Especially the police when his outfit was noticed. "This is the guy who took the kid's Pokémon. Get whatever information you want out of him, we are gonna go get it back. I'd advise you don't follow. We don't want to make them jumpy enough to use the Pokémon as a hostage. We'll answer whatever questions you want once we get back." With that, Logan turned his back, and began walking towards a nearby taxi, licking the blood off his clawed hand. He opened the back left door and stared at Burgh and Ben. "Well, you coming?"

Ben and Burgh fought back disgust at the sight of the Zoroark cleaning himself of blood with his tongue. 'Man, Dark Types are vicious.' This was Burgh's thought. Suddenly he was quite happy his Pokémon were Bug Types. If needed, they could likely put up a fight against him.

The ride was a bit longer this time, taking around 75 minutes before they arrived in front of the building across from the Gym. Once they stepped out, a pair of Team Plasma members stepped out and blocked the door. Seeing a Gym Leader in front of their building quickly clued them in to the fact that they had been found out. Logan did not have the patience to deal with this. Once the pair of human males saw him, they began to become visibly nervous. They knew that Zoroarks were at least Level 30, and were quite powerful. Well outside the capabilities of the Pokémon they had. Logan walked up to them, with Ben and Burgh flanking him on either side. Logan puffed some fire out of his nose with the clever use of a Flamethrower. This intimidated them enough to run back into the building.

"Let's go get that Pokémon back." Logan walked in, followed closely by Ben and Burgh. The two of them didn't say anything. Even Burgh could tell that Logan was on a mission, and wouldn't listen to what they said.

The inside seemed to be some sort of office building, due to the reception area, though clearly no longer used in such a fashion. Along with the two Plasma members that had run in, there was Ghestis, and two humans males in similar, though less ornate robes. Grey and brown respectively in color. Burgh decided to speak first. "I do know a little about Team Plasma. Freedom for Pokémon is what you say. I get it, believe me, I do, but you can't just steal from people."

The man in grey turned to Ghestis and spoke. "I thought it would be amusing to put our hideout so close to the Gym, but it would seem we've been found out sooner than I expected."

Logan chuckled. "So you're the dipshit who came up with that cunning plan. No wait, not cunning, what's the opposite of that? Oh right, retarded."

The person who spoke looked at him with a slightly upset look on his face. Ghestis didn't even acknowledge Logan's remark. "It doesn't matter. We already have an excellent base of operations." He finished speaking to his associate, and addressed the trio in front of him. "Are you all are familiar with the legend regarding the formation of this Region?"

Logan was quickly growing impatient. Something about Ghestis just didn't sit right with him. Something besides the obvious, 'He's in Team Plasma' thing. "Yeah yeah yeah white dragon and all that shit."

Ghestis didn't seem to have even heard this, or if he did he didn't care, as he took a step forward, and then one to the left. "You see, the white dragon appeared before a hero who sought out the true way to bring together a world of people at war." Logan sighed loudly. 'Here we go with the monologuing.' "The white dragon shared its knowledge, and bared its fangs against whoever stood against it." Logan kept his hand at his side with his palm facing behind him. A small amount of dark energy forming. "Together, the awe inspiring power of the Pokémon and the hero brought unity to the hearts of- GAH!"

Quick as a flash, Logan brought his hand up and fired a Dark Pulse at the group of Plasma members. This left them all against the wall in a pile. "Shut the fuck up! Couldn't you tell I wasn't even listening!? I mean are you trying to sell me on a religion or what!? Good lord I even said I knew the story you fucking idiot." Ben and Burgh were surprised at Logan's actions, but impressed with how effective they were. "Now then, give us the Pokémon that was stolen, and come with us, because you all are going to jail."

Ghestis glared at him, before reaching into his robe. He pulled out a Pokeball and rolled it to the Zoroark. Logan underestimated him as he took his eyes off him to pick it up. When he did, Ghestis pulled out a silenced pistol and put a bullet into Logan's right shoulder. The illusion fox fell to his knees groaning loudly. Ben knelt down to check on him, while Burgh took a step back. "Terribly sorry to do that, but we aren't going to jail. I would just threaten you with the gun, but with that one's illusion powers I didn't want to take any chances. He can't use them while in pain, which is why I aimed for his arm. Now, if you will kindly step aside and let us leave."

Ben drug Logan to the right, while Burgh stepped left. Ghestis walked out first, followed by the robed men, and the grunts last. Logan got to his feet and growled. "I am going to KILL him one day! Fucking coward!"


	22. What Have You Done?

**Ok so I would've had this done earlier, but I got extremely sick on Saturday, and didn't fully recover for four full days, so I didn't do much. Boy it was bad though. I slept 22 of 24 hours, and the two I wasn't in bed, I was in the bathroom. So yeah, not fun. Shorter chapter, and it does rush a bit, what can I say, I'm still not 100%, but it's a vital one for character building.**

After Team Plasma left, Ben and Burgh began to look Logan over. Ben had some first aid training, though gunshot wounds were a bit above his training. He knew a little bit though as he began to go through his bag to find some cloth. "Man that is a very nasty exit wound for a pistol. What kind of bullet was that?"

Logan's voice was, understandably so, strained. "Based on the amount of pain I'm in for such a small bullet, I'd say it was a hollow points round."

Burgh was a little confused. "Hollow points? Never heard that term before." As he said that, Ben had found his roll of medical cloth. He began to unravel it as he fetched the scissors and cut it. He grabbed a disinfectant spray for Pokémon, which had some Potion mixed in it to slow bleeding, and went over the wound quickly. Logan groaned quite a bit at that. He then began to wrap the wound while having Logan keep his arm up as best he could.

"A hollow points bullet is what it sounds like. It's a hollow bullet. So instead of deforming, it shatters when it pieces its target. This causes much more INTernal damage," His voice had gone up in volume as Ben tied the bandage off tightly to keep pressure on it. "As well as much worse exit wounds. They're a very nasty type of bullet."

"Sounds like there's also a chance there's still pieces in your wound if they act like that. Let's get you back to the Center and get you looked at."

Logan stood up, a bit weak as he had lost a good bit of blood, and tried to brush it off. "I'll be fine. It's nothing serious. Let's return the Pokémon first. We also have questions to answer from the cops first. It's nothing dangerous, so let's take care of that first."

Ben wanted to tell him off for putting himself so low on his list of priorities, but he felt like it would be useless to argue with him on this. So they returned to Prime Pier, where the police, and a new ambulance on account of the wounded mouse, were. The ambulance was currently loading up the mouse from Team Plasma to get his wrist and facial injuries taken care off. Logan located the little human child before the police could pull him aside. An adult human woman, who he assumed to be her mother, was there too. When she saw Logan, she had her child stay behind her. She was probably wary due to the bloody bandage on his shoulder, though Logan couldn't help but think it was because he was a Dark Type. They had a bit of a reputation about them, a lot of it deserved, but a lot of it undeserved. As Logan got close, he knelt down on one knee and looked at the child. "You're the little girl whose Pokémon was stolen right?" She grabbed her mother's red dress and nodded. Logan reached into his mane with his good arm and pulled out the Pokémon he had retrieved. "Here you go. This is your Pokémon."

She gasped and ran towards him. She clasped the ball with both hands and held it close to her chest. The mother relaxed at this. "YAY! THANK YOU MISTER DOGGY!"

Logan sighed. "Look kid, I'm not-"

He didn't finish his sentence as she threw her arms around his neck, nearly having to leave her feet to do so. "Thank you mister doggy! You're a very good dog!" He gave her a few pats on the back before she let go.

"Go wait in the car honey. Mommy will be right there." The kid ran towards a car, obviously the mother's. The mother then turned to face Logan as he stood up. "You're a good man. Thank you for helping my daughter. If the arm is from getting her Pokémon back, then I'm sorry about that."

"Don't thank me. I don't deserve it."

"I think you should give yourself some credit. Now you'll have to excuse me, but I need to get my little girl home. She's had a long day." With that, she walked towards the car her daughter had got in.

A few hours later, after all the questions from the police were answered, Ben informed Burgh that he'd challenge the Gym later as it was getting late and he had to get Logan proper medical attention. Burgh thanked them for their help and they went their separate ways. Logan's wound was looked at, and with the bones intact, Logan was given a recovery time of two weeks. During which time he was not to do any battling or strenuous activities. After some convincing, Ben agreed to challenge the Gym while Logan was in bed resting. He did, and successfully beat it with the help of Blitzle's Flame Charge. Ben had told him that it was a pretty easy Gym with that strategy and he only needed to bring out Nito Ichi once against Burgh himself. Logan joked that he'd actually need to start training again to keep Ben's Pokémon from catching up to him.

February 15th, 2019. 4:00 pm.

After waiting for Logan to recover, and taking a day to leave the massive city, they finally managed to get out and into Route 4. This wasn't a particularly big Route, but it was very hot during most times of the year, and was full of sand. It would probably take about two full days to get through. Logan had been on pain meds for his full recovery, and had just finished taking his last one. This did have some side effects, once of which, Logan was currently having happen to him as they were still on the road before the deep sand. "Hey Ben, I feel nauseous, think I can rest in my ball for a while? I'd ask to just break for camp, but I'd prefer to be in this Route as little as possible. I hate sand in my fur."

Ben nodded. "Ok. You take a rest, meds are a doozey. I'll keep going for a while. I'll call you out when it's time for dinner."

As Ben reached for Logan's Pokeball, Logan grabbed his arm. "Hold up... I think... I dunno… something's not right. I feel like... nevermind. It's probably just my head not being in the right place. Pretend I didn't say anything." Logan let his arm go, and after Ben made sure Logan was ok, he recalled him.

Ben continued on for a little bit. Looking at some of the dunes around him. There wasn't really much else to look at on the road of this Route. The sand dunes were only a few feet tall at best, but there were some rocky hills that were pretty tall. Some of which looked more like cliffs. All in all, it was a pretty uninviting region. Ben was glad they were travelling it while it was still winter. Summer in this region was absolutely brutal. Sure the nights would be bitterly cold, but he and Logan cold just snuggle up in the same sleeping bag again. It was much better than scorching to death in the blistering heat of the summer sun. Out of all the Routes, this one claimed the most lives. Not due to Pokémon attacks like other Routes, but to dehydration and heat stroke. The League did have some water stations set up, but it was still a grueling trek in summer.

After about an hour, Ben was beginning to debate settling down for a snack versus waiting until dinner, when suddenly he was tackled from behind. "What the hell!?" Ben tried to turn around, but a furry body kept him pinned down. He went to reach for Logan's Pokeball, as he was the strongest, but he felt the creature grab his wrist. The claws on it felt familiar. He'd felt similar claws before. Logan's to be exact. This was a feral Zoroark. Ben's eyes widened at this realization. He was in big trouble. His left hand was then grabbed by the Zoroark's left, rendering him unable to grab anything. considering this Zoroark hadn't killed him yet, and was trying to pin, he assumed it didn't want him dead. As it began to put both hands behind his back, the fox's head was just behind Ben's, and Ben took advantage. He threw his head back and connected his skull with the Zoroark's chin, electing a groan from it, and causing it to release its grips. While this gave him a bit of a headache, it had stunned his assailant enough to allow him to reach for Logan's Pokeball. He pressed the button and threw it. Right as it left his hand, the Zoroark roughly grabbed both his arms and painfully bent them behind his back with a growl in his ear.

He had done it though. Logan emerged in a flash in front of his Pokeball. He looked a bit out of it, but when he saw Ben, he sobered up quickly. "Logan, I need help!" He expected Logan to leap into action, and expected to have to talk him out of killing his feral counterpart, but then, Logan looked down at his Pokeball. 'No. No no no!'

Logan's mind was running wild. 'The Pokeball. It's right here. I could... But Ben needs my help, and he's my friend right? Would you consider the two of you as friends? I mean it's a Zoroark that's attacking him, and it's not hurting him.' The thoughts were barely together, and running a mile a minute. On one hand, he felt an undeniable attachment to Ben. Ben had been nice to him despite everything. Despite knowing what he had done, Ben was supportive of him. Ben was now relying on him. After all Ben had done to help Logan, even if just emotionally, Logan could now pay it back.

On the other hand...

Logan looked at Ben for a few more seconds, before he crushed the Pokeball under his foot, and ran off.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

While part of Logan's brain was ecstatic that he'd gotten his freedom back, another part of it was not happy with the decision. 'How could you abandon him in his hour of need? You're a monster. A heartless monster.' A tear formed and fell from his eye.

"I know I am."


	23. I Choose to Listen to My Heart

**Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me-e! Happy birthday to me! Yep. As of March 9th of 2020 I'm 22 years old, and if I play my cards right, I've got another 22 in me before I die of some monumentally stupid thing I do. I know how I can be.**

As he ran, Logan couldn't help the words his mind was screaming at him. That he should go back and help Ben because of the time they'd spent together. Ben had been nice to him, and yet he abandoned him. When Ben needed him, he left him to whatever the feral Zoroark was going to do to him. The one person in over a year who had been kind to him despite his efforts to the contrary, and he had run away. 'How could you do this to him? He was nice to you? You could have helped him!' Normally, he'd have a mental debate about why he left, but he didn't have a good answer.

Ben was utterly furious. How could Logan have done this? He knew Logan wasn't exactly the kindest soul in the world, but this was just a dick move. In his hour of need, he'd been left for theoretical dead. As he growled at Logan's figure as it was going up a hill, he was lifted to his feet. As this was a Zoroark, which could use illusions to communicate, and even integrate into human society, he was "spoken" to. "Move it. We're going on a little walk." Ben was then shoved roughly to the ground.

Logan scrambled up the nearby hill. The sooner he got away, the sooner he could try to start feeling better about himself. As he reached the top of the hundred foot tall hill, he turned back and watched Ben being shoved. "I abandoned him..."

He heard a voice behind him. "I'm surprised." Logan turned around and saw a familiar green haired face. N. "Logan I believe?" Logan gave a small nod. He was too upset with himself to fight or argue with him. "I'll admit, when Ghestis informed me that you could be valuable to us, and that he thought he could get you to join us in Team Plasma, I thought he'd lost it. Yet that, was a thing of beauty. You freed yourself from him. A Pokemon breaking free of their trainer's control is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen."

"I betrayed him..."

"Look, based on how you behaved to him, I can guess he most likely took you from your home against your will. That's what trainers do, they take Pokemon and ruin families. It's good that you broke free. Now, I know Ghestis wants you to join Team Plasma, but if you want, you can return to your pack."

"I didn't have a pack... I lived alone... and he caught me because I tried to kill him..." Logan was now defending what Ben did. He felt so bad for what he had done.

"Well then you should join us. I'm the king of Team Plasma. I make sure all our Pokémon are treated well." Logan knew he was part of Team Plasma, but he didn't expect him to be the one in charge. He opened his mouth to say more, but Logan cut him off before he could go on.

"What about him? What will happen to him?" Hopefully he would be allowed to leave without any issues. Maybe that would make Logan feel a little bit better.

"He'll probably have his Pokémon taken away and then I'll have someone return him to a place of his choosing. I can promise you that he will not be harmed in any way." The words were a bit of a relief to Logan, but it didn't do anything to dispel the horrid guilt in his stomach. "Look, if you decide to join us in Team Plasma, you will be held in high regard. Pokémon like you represent what we strive for. Unity between humans, anthros, and Pokémon. You basically represent all of it as an anthro Pokémon. Human/anthro thought process, and Pokémon ability. You could have everything you want with us."

Logan thought back to when he had spoken with Chuck back in Castelia. 'Don't compromise. Do what makes you happy first and foremost.' What did he want? He needed to answer that question. 'What do I want? I... I want... I want someone to care for me... I want someone to be there for me when I lose my way. That's all I want.' "I already had what I wanted..."

N looked at him with a mixture of surprise and worry. "What? With him? Please don't kid yourself. You're a Zoroark. You don't need anyone. You have immense strength and abilities. Listen, I need to go make sure my Zoroark has this handled. If you want to join Team Plasma, just stay here, if not, then you can do whatever you want. Just trust me when I tell you, you don't need him."

With that, N began to walk back towards his Zoroark. As Logan looked back to where Ben was, he noticed that Ben had bit the feral fox on the arm. He was struggling very much, and though he had no chance of getting away, he seemed to know the Zoroark wouldn't hurt him, so he did everything within his power to fight. If Ben had drawn blood, N's concern was kind of warranted. Infection in all that.

N's last words had stuck in Logan's head. 'You don't need him.' Yet...

'What do I want? I want... no... I...' Logan had not confronted his emotions in this sort of context for so very long, that he didn't know what to think. He was having an internal war with himself. Part of him wanted to just keep running. Bury this part of his life and just live and die alone as he felt was destined for him. Another part wanted him to run back and save Ben. Apologize profusely and hope Ben wouldn't hate him. 'You don't need him.' How could he make this choice? The rest of his entire life may hang in the balance. 'I... I need...'

'You don't need him.'

Slowly, Logan began to smile. "Actually, I do. I need someone to care for me... to make me better... and right now, he needs me." He bolted down the hill on all fours. "So I need to do this!" He slammed his shoulder into N's back. N ended up face planting and began rolling down the hill. The impact had seriously hurt his back. It would be a while before he could get back up with how much of a blow his spine had taken. Logan didn't stop to check on him or make it worse for him. He barreled towards N's Zoroark and Ben, who were now facing away from him. As he got within a few feet, he got on all fours, and then delivered a punch right to the side of his head. He was knocked off of his feet and sent airborne for a few feet. "Stay the fuck away from my trainer!"

Ben spun around. "Logan?"

Logan looked back and nodded. "I'm here for you. You can count on me. Let me handle this joker." Logan faced his feral counterpart who was quite clearly shaken.

The smaller fox growled. "That was a total sucker punch!"

Logan switched to Pokespeak. "Yeah, I just wish I'd have made it a claw to your neck. Consider yourself lucky I didn't." They both got on all fours and began to circle. Logan had a confident smile on his face, while his opponent wore a furious scowl. After a few moments of feeling each other out, they both charged. Right as they were about to reach each other, they got to their hindlegs and began trying to bite and claw at each other. Within moments, both foxes had multiple lacerations on their arms. Their claws cut through flesh with ease. Logan shoved the other vulpine to the growled and sunk his teeth into his shoulder. This was met with a loud cry of pain and a retaliatory punch to the face. Logan released his grip and held his cheek, which was bleeding pretty heavily after a blow of that level. When he removed his hand it was pretty bloody already. "Heh, you got me pretty good with that one! Come on!" He stormed up to the other Zoroark and used his larger size and longer reach to grab his chest fluff. He threw him to the ground and knelt on his chest before he could get up. He held up the index claw in his right hand and began to lower it towards his enemy's eye. Both of his clawed hands came up and grabbed Logan's. Trying to push it away. Logan placed his left hand on his right wrist and pushed down with all his might. "Sorry to do this, but I need to ensure that you don't try anything like this again. I think this should be a good message, don't you?" Slowly, his larger size was allowing him to overpower his foe. The claw got closer and closer to his left eye.

"W-wait! Stop please! I'll leave, just don't do this!" Logan ignored this and pressed on. His claw got closer and closer. It was less than an inch from half blinding N's Zoroark.

"LOGAN STOP!" Logan looked back. Ben was looking at him with pleading eyes. "Let him go. He got the message. Just look at him!" Logan returned his eyes to his opponent who was staring at the claw with desperate eyes. He was crying because he was so afraid. Logan stopped pushing down. The feral fox laid back and began panting in relief and exhaustion. He'd put everything into fighting against Logan, now his arms felt like they were on fire, coupled with all the blood loss, he was feeling pretty weak.

Logan grabbed his ear and pulled him close. "I don't care what N says or does, you will not come after us again, and you will not touch him." After that, Logan didn't deliver another punch, or scratch him, or anything. He just got off of him. "Now go tend to your trainer. He could probably use some help standing for a bit." His advice was taken as the feral Pokémon went over to the hill where N was still down with back pain. Logan went to check on Ben in the meantime. "Are you ok?"

"I've got a few bumps and scuffs, but I'm ok. Oh, and by the way." Ben punched Logan in the chest. It didn't do much, but it did cause some pain. "That's for abandoning me." He then threw his arms around Logan. "And that's for coming back."

Logan was startled. He was sure Ben would ridicule him heavily for what he did. Yet, he seemed to be forgiven. After a few moments, Logan hesitantly reached down and hugged Ben in return. "I'm so sorry... I'm gonna be better... I swear it. For you."


	24. I Believe in You

**Ugh, work fucking sucks. Everyone is buying a ton of supplies, not for fear of the Coronavirus, but because they're afraid the government will do something even more stupid than what they've already done. Thanks a lot feds, you've made my job completely fucking suck. Great job! Also this is the second time I typed this up. First time my wifi decided to cut out before I hit save. Thanks a fucking lot CenturyLink. Wish we had other options in the mountains.**

February 15th, 2019. 8:00pm.

The duo had located a decent place to set up camp after they had travelled a ways from N and his now thoroughly traumatized Zoroark. There was a bit of an outcrop in one of the cliffs. They felt that sitting out in the open after that incident had occurred, that camping in the open, would be a pretty bad idea. Neither or them had spoken since they hugged. It was pretty awkward since Logan had tried to leave him, and then came back. Logan was sure that Ben would speak first, and that it would be about how Logan was now a wild Pokémon again, and that they should fix that. Logan liked to think he knew things. Problem was he was usually wrong, and this time was no exception. Ben did indeed speak first, but not about that. "So, why did you come back? I thought you wanted to be away from me. Why the change of heart?"

Logan looked down a bit. "Can I have a minute to think? It's not so easy to put into words."

"Take all the time you need. We aren't going anywhere." With that, Ben began to set up the tent as Logan sat down.

His left leg was laying flat on the ground with his knee bent so that his foot was going under his right leg, which was in the air apart from his clawed foot. His right arm was resting on the knee. 'How do I say this? I've never done anything like this before. I've always bottled my emotions up. I've never really faced them before. What the hell do I say?' Logan let out a sigh and laid flat on his back, clawed hands behind his head. He looked up at the sky, and as usually happened when he was thinking, even about something serious, his mind began to wander. 'Being out here, it's so pretty. You can see so much of the sky on these clear nights. I can even see the Milky Way. At least one of it's arms. There are billions and billions of stars out there in this galaxy. All so incomprehensibly far away. There's also billions and billions of galaxies out there. This universe is so unbelievably massive, and if multiverse theory is true, there are billions and billions of universes. It puts things into such a context. In the vast infiniteness of reality, do any of my problems matter? Do I even matter? Honestly, no I don't. Especially since I can't even figure out something so small in comparison to everything.' He let out another sigh and reached into his mane and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it and went to YuuTube. He needed to listen to some music. He paused and sat up. 'That's it.'

As Ben was setting up the tent, he was just about to drive the stakes into the ground, when he heard a guitar playing, what sounded like right between his ears. He looked around confused until he saw Logan. His eyes had a small glow about them. 'An auditory illusion.' Zoroarks were capable of making illusions real enough to inflict phantom pain. Making sound was easy for them. The sound he heard next was a woman singing.

"Who do I turn to when things are broken? Where do I go when I'm feeling alone? Who's always there with arms wide open it's you. Yeah it's you."

Ben saw a distinct wetness in Logan's eyes. He stepped over to him.

"Where do I hide when it's dark and stormy? Where do I run when it's all too much? Who gives me hope when I wake each morning it's you. Yeah it's you." Ben lifted Logan up and embraced him in a hug. "You were there for me in my darkest days. You cared for me when I lost my way. My guiding light, you always pulled me through. I believe in you."

Logan's breath sputtered and he began openly sobbing.

"Yeah yeah... When I stumble and fall, you take my hand. When I don't have a clue, you know what to do. When nothing makes sense, you help me to understand. It's true. Seems like forever, it's been you and me. I know who you really are. Sometimes I wonder, where would I be without you? Yeah yeah. You were there for me in my darkest days. You cared for me when I lost my way. My guiding light, you always pulled me through. Yeah you gave me strength, when I was weak. You were my voice when I could not speak. One ray of hope, that I could hold onto. Yeah I believe in you... Yeah I believe in yoooooou."

Logan couldn't take it anymore. He buried his face in Ben's shoulder and wrapped his arms tightly around Ben. Not too tightly though. With the strength Zoroarks possessed, he could've crushed Ben like a toothpick if he didn't hold back. Ben reached his right arm up and began petting Logan's mane.

"You were there for me in my darkest days. You cared for me when I lost my way. My guiding light, you always pulled me throuuuuuuugh. Yeah you gave me strength, when I was weak. You were my voice when I could not speak. One ray of hope, that I could hold onto. Yeah I believe in yooooooou… You were there for me in my darkest days. You cared for me when I lost my way. My guiding light, you always pulled me through."

Ben spoke in turn with the music. "Yeah I believe in yoooooou." He blushed a little bit when the line repeated one last time before the song ended. It made his gesture not quite as fluid as he had been hoping for. Still, Logan appreciated the gesture. After a few more moments, Logan managed to compose himself. When he eventually pushed himself away from Ben, his eyes scleras were quite red. It was actually a nice color combination with the brilliant blue. Though it was hard for Ben to see someone who was normally so confident in such a vulnerable state. He patted Logan's shoulder a few times. "Hey, take a seat and I'll get you something to eat."

Logan sniffed loudly and nodded. Ben fetched a small Styrofoam cooler from the backpack. In it was, what once was ice, and a bunch of sliced rotisserie seasoned chicken breast. The ice HAD melted, but the water was still decently cold as it was still winter, so even in this desert, it wasn't THAT hot. He handed Logan the cooler. "Here, it'll be a bit soggy, but it should still be tasty." Logan pulled out the whole stack. He hit it with a Flamethrower to dry it off a bit, then set it on the top of the cooler to eat it one slice at a time. He savored the nice flavor. They had brought this specifically for him.

As he ate, Ben finished setting up the tent, and set out the kibble for his other Pokémon. Once the tent was set up, Logan was finished eating, and his other Pokémon were in the process of eating, he walked over to Logan. He dug into his backpack and pulled something out.

"So Logan, you are legally wild now. If you'd like to rectify that, well, I'd be very happy about that." He held his webbed hand out and revealed a Luxury Ball to Logan. Logan gently grabbed it. He held the back of his with both hands, staring at the button. Soon enough, he curled it into his chest, where the button was depressed against his sternum. His body turned into the signature red energy, and he was sucked into it. This was not like the first time. First time he was being captured he was confused, somewhat scared, and extremely angry. This time, he was comfortable. He was sure. This is what he wanted. Three shakes later, there was a click. He was Ben's Pokémon again.

This time though, it was for good.

He was sent back out a few minutes later. Ben's other Pokémon had all been recalled after they had finished eating. "Sorry about the delay. Had a phone call to make. So, we're partners again?" Logan nodded. "Good. I'm glad that we're on the same page for once. I do care about you."

Logan looked dead in his eyes. "I know you do."

They called it a night soon after, or at least Ben did. Logan cast an illusionary copy of himself as he hid himself in the corner of the tent. Fortunately, he'd been in here enough times that he knew exactly how to make it look, so he was able to cast the most difficult illusion a normal Zoroark could. Invisibility. A Zoroark couldn't just cast this whenever the hell they wanted. They had to know what the area around them was supposed to look like from all angles. It's why Logan was able to cast it back in his territory when Ben captured him. He knew his territory very well. Now, he was familiar enough with the inside of this tent to cast the same illusion he had back then. He made his double crawl into the sleeping bag with Ben and curl up. He held these two illusions until he was positive Ben was asleep, then he lowered both. He quietly crept along until he could reach Ben's belt, which he took off during the night. He grabbed Nito's Pokeball, and exited the tent. He walked about 50 feet away, and tossed it next to himself. The Dweott materialized.

"Huh? What's going on? Where's Ben?"

Logan sat down as he answered. "He's sleeping. I just... I need someone to talk to, and I can't talk to Ben about this, because it's about him."

Nito stared at him with a serious look on his face. "What's going on?"

A loud sigh escaped from Logan's maw. "I... I don't feel like I deserve to be on Ben's team... He's so nice, and kind. I feel happy near him. Yet, well... I'm horrible. I threaten, I hurt, I try to kill sometimes. I make everyone around me miserable. I don't deserve to be his partner. It's for someone as good as him. Definitely not me. I'm just not worthy of it." Logan's eyes weren't looking anywhere but down at the ground. "I want to be on his team. More than anything, I want this, but I have Dark Type I may be, I have a strong sense of justice. I believe that everyone should get what they deserve. I don't deserve this place. I deserve... bad things. I deserve to die..."

As Logan continued on, Nito became more and more concerned for Logan's safety. "You... don't think like that! That's not healthy! Look, if you really don't believe that you deserve this, then work on being better. Improve yourself until you are worthy. Work on being better to prove to Ben, and yourself, that you do deserve this."

Logan sighed again and looked up. He was having an internal war. Could he really be worthy of this? Not at this moment, could he ever? To him, Ben was someone who was better than he could ever hope to be, and deserved nothing but the best. He was strong for sure, he was tall, healthy, Zoroarks were also a very handsome species if you were to ask him, but his personality, he felt it ruined all that. "I suppose all I can do is try. For some unknown reason he wants me on his team. I don't want to hurt his feelings by leaving him again. I will work on improving myself both on and off the battlefield. I'll push myself with everything I have. Thanks for your advice." Nito told him it was no problem, and Logan recalled him. "I'll push myself as far as I need to. Even if it kills me."


	25. I Am The Voice

**Man work is hard right now. The strain from us trying to refill our supplies is immense. Makes it hard to get these chapters out, but it does give me more time to think about them. So I guess it's a blessing. People seriously need to calm the fuck down about this. When there's videos of people starting fist fighting over toilet paper you know people have gotten stupid. Everyone cool your jets and stop freaking out mkay? A shorter chapter, but this wasn't meant to be a long one. You'll see a decently long one next time.**

Logan found himself in a sort of void. He felt ground beneath his clawed feet, but there was no difference between the floor, the walls, if indeed there were any, and the sky. Everything was pitch black, even for his excellent night vision. Yet he could see his own body quite clearly. He couldn't help but wonder, would this be what it would be like when he died? Though that probably shouldn't have been the first thing he thought of. Normally his first thought would rightfully be, 'where the fuck am I?' After a few other thoughts only mildly connected to his current situation, that is what he thought. It didn't take him long to answer it.

"I must be dreaming. I've never had a lucid dream before. This could actually be kinda cool. Having control over a dream. Making whatever I want. That actually kinda sounds like my powers normally, just more powerful."

"You haven't had a lucid dream before," Logan tensed up when he heard a young female voice. He whipped around, got to all fours, and bared his teeth. He was met with a bloody Purrloin. A large gash in its neck. Logan recognized the figure, and his heart would've stopped if this was real. "and you still haven't."

"L-Lavender?" Logan knew he was dreaming at this point, and that this wasn't real, but the sight of someone that he had tried to help, and instead ended up killing, scared him. Especially with how much it had traumatized him. He had tried so hard to forget about this, he'd had many nightmares about it, but he'd felt as if he had finally started getting over it, the nightmares had stopped a long time ago, and he was finally, FINALLY, starting to form bonds again. Why did this have to happen? He knew it was pointless to talk, but he couldn't just ignore it. He was in a dream. It didn't matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape from this. "L-Look I'm sorry. I-I-I didn't-"

"You killed me. YOU MURDERED ME! My parents were so close to saving us, and you murdered me! For no reason!"

Normally, this is where guilt would wash over him, and he'd start crying. The Purrloin would then berate him for the hours he was in the dream until he woke up, and that was it for that day. He'd be miserable from guilt, and then dreading the next sleep. Not this time though. This time, his mind stayed calm. No guilt, no fear of reliving the events again, no anger. Determination washed through him like a tidal wave. He'd been living this torture for too long. No more. "It wasn't my fault. I thought we were still being chased. You did too. You're the one who asked me to kill you quickly. It wasn't my fault. I'm done blaming myself for it. I know I ended your life, but I wouldn't have if I felt I had any other choice. Now leave. I'm not letting you torment me anymore."

To his surprise, the imaginary Purrloin smiled. A warm smile. A kind one. " Finally, you get it." The blood and gash faded. "You finally did it. You faced your fears."

Logan was taken back to the waking mental fights he'd had in his head. 'Face your fears.' He'd heard that line many times. He'd never been told what he had to face. It would seem that this was it. If that was the case though...

"What are you?"

Logan often listened to music, especially when he was troubled, and it would seem that whatever this was knew that too, as it sang lines from a Celtic song he knew. One perfect for this situation. "Listen my child you say to me, I am the voice of your history. Be not afraid come follow me. Answer my call and I'll seeeeeet yooooou," The void around them lit up. "Freeeeeeeeeeee." Surrounding them was what was once a lush forest. It should have been nice and serene. There were some flowers, trees, and the calming sound of a creek nearby, there were signs of much trouble though. He could see the ashes of trees that had burned, parts of the ground were torn up, and some trees were dead and dying in various states of decay and rot. Logan didn't know what to make of this. "I am your guilt. Your conscience. This place, this part of your mind, was thick with regret and pain. Pain in a conscience is normal. When you do something you regret, you become troubled and guilt ridden." The Purrloin walked over to some ashes where a tree had apparently burned down. "There's a reason why I chose a forest to represent this part of you. It's because like a forest, your conscience becomes better from those troubles. Learning from your mistakes is how you grow as a person. Ashes and decayed plants are good for the earth, for new plants to grow." It ran a paw through the pile of ash, and small sapling was uncovered. "You become a better person when you learn from your mistakes. You weren't learning from yours. You don't bury the past. You face it, accept it, and learn from it. Now that you've finally dealt with your guilt, the healing can begin. You can truly begin to make yourself better. For now though, it's time to wake up."

February 16th, 2019. 6:30 am.

Ben stirred to the smell of cooking meat. He slowly got up, it was a bit early for him after all. He stretched his back and body out. Once his blood got flowing his alertness returned. He opened the tent flap and looked around. He quickly spotted a small campfire Logan had made, and he had some meat skewers over it in his hands. The fox's right ear flicked and he turned around to face Ben. "Morning" He lifted the skewers, which were basically tree branches, blew on them, and took a bite of one of them. "Hm, yep, that's cooked nicely. Made some breakfast for us." He handed Ben a two of the four skewers.

Ben took them and stared at them. He saw some sort of scaled hide laying behind Logan. "Wow... thank you. That looks like Sandile hide?"

Logan nodded as he fired a Dark Pulse from his hand to smother the fire. "Yep. It tastes a lot like normal alligator. All I could do was salt and pepper it, but it should suffice for a campfire breakfast." Logan bit into one of them squares of meat and tore it from the wood.

Ben bit into one of the squares himself, and found it to be decently good. "Mm. Not bad at all." He was shocked that Logan was doing something like this. For a moment he thought that Logan may have poisoned it, but after the previous night, those thoughts were put to bed pretty quickly. "So... is this the new Logan? A kinder gentler Logan?"

Logan scratched behind his ear and looked away slightly. Was he being... shy? "It- it was nothing. Just... thought it would be good to do something nice for you." Ben saw Logan's jaw clench for a moment, before he took another bite a bit too quickly. Ben could see that something was off with that speedy reaction. It was too quick to be normal. 'Why is he shy? Why did a simple compliment make him react like that?' Ben decided to worry about it later, and finish the food Logan had prepared for him.

After the duo had finished eating and packing up, which Logan helped with, they set out. Logan had a small spring in his step as they walked. "You seem to be in a good mood."

"Well, I mentioned I used to live near Nimbasa. It's where I spent 14 of my first 18 years of life, and it's where I set up my first territory, before that fucker Lucario kicked me out, but the point stands, Nimbasa and the surrounding areas hold a special place in my heart. Also I think I saw on my phone that there's some sort of fair going on. Rollercoasters, games, lots of food, good things like that!"

Ben smiled. Some of his sharp teeth showed, but as they were both sentient creatures, Logan knew it wasn't meant to be threatening "Maybe we could go. Just stay away from the games, they're all rigged."

This made Logan show his teeth with a smile that was more devious. "Oh don't worry about that. I know the tricks."

The duo made good progress, beat a few trainers, battled a number of Pokémon for training purposes, and Logan even partook in a few battles. Logan was actually proving to be an asset for once. The desert proved little challenge for Logan, Nito, and the rest of Ben's team. Ben finally felt like he had a real team. Pokémon that would work together if they needed to. Ben was overjoyed at the progress Logan was making. He truly seemed to be coming around. It wouldn't be long before Ben would consider Logan a true friend if he kept this up.


	26. Narrow Minded World

**Quick note, the two stories told about Logan's past are events that actually happened to me. Yes, I did get to play in a profesional stadium. That actually happened.**

February 16th 2019. 7:00 pm.

The time in the deserts of Route 4 hadn't been Ben's most productive. Hw would've preferred to spend an extra day training, but Logan seemed rather eager to return to where he had spent much of his childhood. Though according to Logan they had lived just outside the city proper. Still, it was probably like a return to home for the young fox. Ben was sure if Logan still had a tail it would've been wagging. Several hours before the entered the city, the deserts gave way to flat grassy plains. The temperature cooling a bit as they were heading north. It wasn't often there was snow south of Route 4, but it did happen in places like Pinwheel Forest as the duo had experienced. In fact the blizzard had nearly set a record for snow fall in the southern part of Unova. Either way, they entered Nimbasa as the sun was setting. Logan's sharp eyes, and even Ben's less sharp ones, caught sight of the bright lights of the fair that was in town, as well as the Ferris Wheel that towered over most buildings. Logan would've liked to go right then and there, but he knew as well as Ben that as late as it was, they should just get some dinner and go to the Pokémon Center. On the way though, they passed a large building next to a metro station.

"I'll never forget this building." Logan remarked as they walked past it. He looked at it with a face that conveyed... was that nostalgia?

Ben looked at it. The building front was almost entirely panned glass. Due to the shape, and the fact that you could see there were walkways through which you could see stands, it was some form of sports arena. "Why is that?"

"Back when we lived near here, I started to follow hockey more. This is the home of the Nimbasa Blues. My dad, brother, and I went to dozens of games during our 14 years living near the city. It was always fun going to the games. Despite having Autism, I loved being in the roar of the crowd. Going to these games is what made me want to play hockey, and I did. I actually played here for a year during... I can never remember which year it was, but it was a lockout shortened season so the place wasn't really being used. Well, the team I played for at the time lost our rink to mine subsidence, and after a couple weeks, I don't know if our organization went to the Blues or if the Blues came to us, but it basically boiled down to, 'Hey do you guys wanna use the rink since we aren't?' Which was swiftly followed by 'Shut up and take our money.' So the rest of that season, all of our home games and practices occurred in this professional rink. It was a dream come true for all of us. No matter how far away I move, this building and this team will always hold a special place in my heart." Logan took a deep breath as he wrapped up the story. He seemed to be getting a bit emotional. Ben, who knew next to nothing about hockey, wasn't really sure what to say. So he went with something that was pretty basic.

"That's interesting."

The fact that Ben seemed incredibly disinterested flew right over Logan's head despite him being six foot two, not including his hair. He proceeded to pull out his phone and open SafariZone. His eyes widened. "Wait, the Blues are in the playoffs? They were in last place in the entire league at the start of the year. Holy shit they're on an 8 game win streak and they're winning 2-0 right now!" Ben kinda zoned out until Logan grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, there's a game here on the 19th! Can we go? Can we can we can we?"

Ben was totally 100% uninterested in hockey, and sports in general, but he smiled at seeing Logan be so eager and child... kit-like. "Oh ok we can go. How do we get tickets? Do they sell them here this early?" Logan proceeded to laugh loudly. The warm laugh was a strange sound to come from this very, VERY, big and powerful fox with a major attitude problem. Yet... it was pleasant. Logan grabbed Ben's phone from his belt. Ben made an attempt to grab it, but Logan just held it up high.

"Ok, store, ehm… here it is. Wait for it to download... I think I had an account here. Username, password, yep. Hey your credit card is attached to this phone right?" Ben nodded, seemingly grumpy that Logan was using his height to literally hold his phone over him. "Thumb print right?" He gave another nod. Logan gave a number of taps before handing the phone back to him. Ben saw the notification to purchase two tickets for the game. The price wasn't that bad. 58 bucks. He contemplated saying no due to how Logan had taken his phone, but he figured that he had already said yes to it. He put his thumb on the button and bought the tickets. He was soon sent a pair of images. They were two nearly identical images of the tickets. The only difference was that one ticket said seat 15, the other seat 16. Logan's eyes were incredibly happy. Ben was certain that if he had the tail that a non-Pokémon fox had, it would've been swaying so fast it would be moving his hips. "Oh thank you thank you thank you! I can't believe I'm actually gonna get to go to a Blues game again!"

Ben smiled. He was super he wouldn't really care about the game, but seeing Logan happy for that long would be enjoyable.

The rest of the day wasn't particularly interesting, and before long they found themselves going to bed.

February 17th, 2019. 9:00 am.

When they woke up, or more accurately when Ben woke up, it was because Logan was taping his clawed foot against the tiled floor of their room. Logan was surprisingly eager to get to this fair. Logan had wolfed down his breakfast so quickly it seemed like he had barely chewed. Ben tried to figure out why he was so eager for certain things. Sure, everyone got excited about things, but with how he normally behaved it was one extreme to the other. Then again, his attitude had significantly improved since he had saved him from N's Zoroark. Also he had to consider how long it had been since Logan had done these sorts of things. Ben shrugged as they approached the fair. Him enjoying himself without people getting hurt couldn't be a bad thing, and it would probably bring them closer together. They paid for their admittance, and entered. The fair was decently lager, and there was a lot of people, anthro animals, and even some anthro Pokémon like Logan walking around. Logan grabbed Ben's wrist and dragged him over to a large roller coaster. Ben looked up. It had a very large and very steep drop. It looked to be over 200 feet high and around 80 degrees. The wait was a bit long, but it wasn't that bad. It took about 25 minutes, during which Logan barely complained, despite Ben having gotten the impression from what he had seen of him from the past that he would be impatient. He decided to ask about it during the wait.

"You seem surprisingly patient. It kinda surprises me. You've come off as impatient from what I've seen of you."

"Well, at the ago of 14 I took up hunting with my father. Not hunting with my claws and teeth, gun hunting. Patience is an absolute must for that. You need to be able to sit nearly motionless for hours. It's something I really enjoyed doing, so I learned to be patient."

Ben rolled his eyes when Logan wasn't looking. 'Of course it has something to do with violence. This is Logan. Why wouldn't it? I should really just expect these sorts of things now.' Soon enough, they boarded the coaster cars. They were lucky enough to get on the first car, and since these were two person cars, they had it to themselves. However, the attendant paused before sending the car. He looked at Logan and checked the bar. Logan looked to the male lemur.

"Something wrong?"

He scratched behind his ear for a moment. "Well, you Zoroarks are so... lithe, that I needed to make sure the bar would hold you in. Seems like you'll be fine."

He pressed the go button after doing the usual bullshit about keeping your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. The cars moved forwards a bit before turning, and then slowly clicking up the massive incline. Logan leaned forwards with an aggressive looking grin on his face. They could feel the win in their fur as they approached the top. The ride slowed to a crawl as a sort of build up factor. Then it rocketed downwards. Logan felt his butt come off the seat as he was so thin there was too much space between his thighs and the bar. The attendant had thought it would be ok. Unfortunately he was wrong. Fortunately however, he was strong enough due to being a Zoroark that he was able to force himself to stay in the car and not feet and body outside and just clinging onto the bar. Ben saw Logan grip the bar tightly and force his knees under it so he didn't come out. His eyes bugged out as he was terrified Logan would die or end up majorly wounded. Before long they hit the bottom and the smaller rise at the end of it. The high G-forces nearly made Logan faceplant into the bar as he was forcing himself down anyways. Logan found himself being flung to and fro for the entire 90 seconds the ride went after the big drop. Ben was utterly relieved when the ride ended and Logan was still in the car. The ride pulled up to just behind where they boarded, and they were let off. Once they got off, Ben looked to Logan. "Are you ok?!"

"That ride almost killed me! That was awesome! Let's go again!"

"No! No we are not!"

They went on a few more thrill rides, ones that didn't nearly kill Logan, before they stopped for lunch. They found a burger and fries stall, which Logan dug into with gusto when he got it. Ben watched Logan, who was grinning nearly literally from ear to ear with his maw shaped like it was. "You seem happy. Like, really happy. It's refreshing."

"It is for me too. I actually feel happy, and not just for a short time. I genuinely feel happy through and through. It's... kinda a new feeling after so long of being miserable, but, it's nice." Logan shoved the rest of his burger into his maw. A number of splotches of ketchup landed on his chest fluff. Ben took a napkin and cleaned the fur.

"We still gotta work on your table manners." This caused Logan to laugh. Ben had a feeling this meant it would never happen. Logan gave certain confirmation when he belched as loudly as he could. Ben sighed. As much as Logan was beginning to grow on him, he was so insufferable with his personality at times. If Logan was a bit more toned down and not as aggressive, Ben may develop feelings for him, but no. It wouldn't happen.

"So, let's hit the games. I know the secrets to win."

Within a couple minutes, they found themselves at the always rigged games found at fairs. Logan picked one that was odd for a fair, but was something that had a trick to it. One that Logan knew. It was one of those three shell games that you had to keep track of an object under one of those. Logan grinned to himself as he sat down at it. A raccoon female was the one attending it. Unlike many anthros, she wore clothing. She wore a baggy shirt and pants, and Logan knew why.

"Hello to test your focus? Object of the game is simple. Just keep track of the ball and pick the shell that has it underneath as I move them to try and confuse you."

"Oh I know how this works. How much to play?"

"Just two bucks. And you can win one of these plushies behind me. Two dollars is dirt cheap for some of these things." There were plenty of plushies in the tent as was usual in these things. Logan nodded and Ben paid the lady. She went on to explain that you had to win three times for a small prize, and five for a large one. The first two rounds were plenty easy, and the third only proved slightly difficult. They didn't get to pick their prize yet, as he still had to do potentially two more rounds. The fourth round showed her skill with the game. Her hands were a blur and the shells were moving at a rapid pace. However, thanks to Logan's high speed stat, his reflexes were top notch as moving at high speed could decidedly dangerous if you didn't have good reflexes, and his brain reacted to things quickly. He was able to follow the shell that had the ball. Once she ended, Logan pointed to the center shell, and she removed it to reveal the ball.

"Most people don't get that one. That's very impressive."

"Yeah I definitely got lost on that one."

The raccoon lady placed the shell back over the ball. "Now then. Last round. I'm going all out on this one. So let's get this going."

Logan readied himself for the trick that he knew was coming. She stepped up the pace even more. She was truly a master of this craft, and it showed. Even Logan was having a bit of trouble tracking the ball. He placed a clawed finger under his maw as he focused. However, he saw what he had been waiting for. For just a brief moment, the shell with the ball under it lifted up a bit, and the ball flew into her baggy sleeve. Due to the rapid pace of the shells, the ball was only visible for a fraction of a seconds. Logan subtly smiled.

He continued to follow the shell that the ball used to be under, which ended up in the right position. Logan chuckled to himself, grabbed the middle and left shell, stared her directly in the eyes, and lifted them up at the same time with a smirk on his face. "So I'm guessing the ball is under that one right?" The procyonid froze for a moment before rubbing the back of her head.

"So you saw that didn't you?" Logan just nodded cynically. He was feeling quite proud of himself, and Ben found himself chuckling. "Ok, can you not tell anyone about that? That would cause my booth to lose money."

"I never lie, but not telling someone if they don't ask isn't lying. So unless someone asks, my lips are sealed." The raccoon chuckled.

"Sly fox."

"Thieving raccoon."

"I've never enjoyed being stereotyped more than I do right now. I imagine you feel largely the same. Anyways, take your pick of prizes. Anything you want." She gestured in a wide range behind her. The prizes were the usual, stuffed animals. There were animals, anthros, pokemon, and a few cartoon characters. Logan glanced back to Ben who gestured for him to make the pick. Logan scanned the selection before his eyes caught one. It was a feral otter. There really wasn't anything else he cared about, and Ben may appreciate it. He pointed to it and said it aloud. She turned, took it off the shelf, and handed it to him. "Here ya go. Ya won it fair and square."

Logan turned around and handed it to Ben, who smiled and took it. "Thank you." They walked away from the booth. "Ya know, slightly embarrassing story, I still have a few stuffed animals in my room at home I still sleep with." Ben opened his backpack and put the stuffed animal in it. It wasn't an overly large one and Ben hadn't brought his normal Pokémon supplies as he didn't believe he'd need it here, which seemed to be the case.

They spent the next couple hours playing games. Darts, which Ben tried and failed to win, the stacked bottles, which Logan was able to win a small prize as he knew if you stand to the left or right you have a better chance of knocking more over, and he chose a small stuffed Zorua which had the usual adorableness they had, and a few other games which they weren't able to win. It was around 7pm. They were starting to get ready to leave, when Logan spotted the "See Your Strength" game. He smirked. For a Zoroark like him, this was a guaranteed win. He pointed it out and Ben agreed that Logan should give it a go. A human male in what looked like his mid 30s, dressed in the standard bright carnival garbs was manning it, and he looked as if he'd rather be anywhere else. Only two people were in front of them when they lined up. Both human. The one manning the game looked at his watch. He was clearly counting the minutes until he was allowed to leave. The humans in front failed to get it more than halfway, and then Logan popped his knuckles and stepped up to the mallet while holding the money Ben had handed him out.

"No."

Logan tilted his head. That was certainly not the reaction he expected. It was said with a tone that was laced with disdain, and loud enough for both Logan and Ben to hear it. Logan was puzzled at first. Did he have gunk on his fur? It wouldn't be the first time and it did tend to make some people not wanna touch him as it showed bad hygiene. "I'm sorry?"

"Look, I've been serving stupid guys trying to impress their girls and fuzzbutts like your friend there, but I'm not letting you play freak." Logan's eyes narrowed dangerously. Specism. He'd been dealing with this shit for a long time. Ben could see the trouble brewing.

"Manager." He called out.

"Ya know, I tend to think of myself as a very thick skinned being. I can handle an insult. One thing I can't handle though, is someone being a dick just because they hate themselves for not doing much with their lives and therefore are stuck with a shitty job. It's your fault your in this position ya dickhead!"

"Manager!"

The human squared up to Logan. "You think you're so great huh? You think that just because you have powers that you're better than me. Well guess what, society is at this point because of humans, not because of damned fuzzbutts like that one and freaks of nature like you."

Logan walked up to the point where his chest fur was making contact with the human's face as Logan was significantly taller than him. "You think I'm scared? Think you're tough? All I wanted to do was play this game, and you decide to be dick, you've got no respect. Maybe I should teach you some."

"MANAGER!"

Before things could get to the point of bloodshed, the human's to be exact, another, older, human male burst through the crowd. He was also dressed in bright clothing, but it seemed to be more important on him. "What is going on here?!"

Ben was quick to answer before either Logan or the guy manning the game could input anything to make it worse. 'My partner here wanted to play the game and this guy refused and insulted the both of us. Called me fuzzbutt and him a freak."

The presumed manager sighed and rubbed his face. "Terry, I told you many times, you don't have to like everyone, but you have to pretend. I told you to put aside your prejudices again and again. I don't care how much you hate this job, you can't do that. I'm done giving warnings. You're fired. Get out." Terry's eyes widened a bit, perhaps in nervousness about what he'd do now that he was being fired, but he clearly wasn't too alarmed as he did in fact hate his job.

Surprisingly, it was Logan who spoke next, and calmly. "Now now, let's not rush to any conclusions here. I'm willing to overlook this, as long as I get to play." Ben raised an eye. Logan was ready to beat him to a pulp moments ago. Why the sudden change? Just when ben thought he had Logan figured out, he'd shift his expected behavior.

The manager sighed. "He'll probably end up getting fired once I report this anyways, but fine. I'm also waiving the fee for this one. Take your go mister."

Logan knelt down and picked up the hammer with one hand. It was quite a hefty tool. over 40 pounds. Ringing that bell must require a LOT of force if the hammer weighed that much. To Logan however, and his immense strength as a Zoroark, it was like picking up a loaf of bread. He tossed it end over end a few times casually. Ben's ears went flat against his head as he saw Logan give a dark grin. 'Oh no.' He then placed his webbed hands over his ears.

Logan wound up and slammed the hammer down with all his strength, The hammer broke in half from the recoil of the hammer hitting the ground, the mechanism that sends the metal ball up flipped off its holding, the ball shot up in an instant, and took the bell clean off the game and ended up in the tent of another game. Logan tossed the broken handle down as all eyes within a large radius were now on the scene. "Thank you. You can keep the prizes, that was enough of a reward." Logan spun on his toes and walked away with purpose, while Ben gave a quick sorry to the manager before following him.

The manager glared at Terry. "You're fired and we will be billing you for the damages."

A few moments later, Ben caught up with Logan. He grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Hey. What was that about? Why are you so quick to resort to violence? I thought you were gonna change." Logan seemed a bit sad that Ben was telling him off, as his head dipped a bit and his eyes looked away, but he wasn't fazed too much and resumed his previous posture.

"It's kind of a long story, and one I'd prefer to share in private. If there's anywhere around here we could be alone that is."

Ben looked around. A couple of the crowd were still looking at them for the destruction of the game that Logan had caused, but most had gone back to their own devices. Ben then spotted the classic fairgrounds device. "Ferris Wheel?" Logan looked at it for a few moments, before nodding. Within a few minutes, they had paid their fee to get on, and were sat down with a solid metal bar over their knees to help keep them in. Of course it took them time to get far enough from the ground that Logan felt like they were out of earshot of even creatures with particularly good hearing. At this point they were already about 70 feet up, which was only halfway. This was a sizeable Ferris Wheel.

Logan leaned on the bar and sighed. "It was a long time ago. I think I was... 15 or 16. I played high school hockey, but unfortunately, one of the people on the Varsity team was someone who had bullied me throughout middle school. This wasn't long after I evolved. Now because I was in the Junior Varsity team we didn't see each other much on the ice barring a few practices. Well I had just completed one of the drills and knelt down in the line to catch my breath before I was to run it again. Well a few seconds later the fuckface asked me if I had a pumpkin ass. His words not mine. Now you've seen when you were staring at it, I have a larger than average hind end, but nothing major. I shook my head and asked him to stop. He asked again in a tone that implied he'd done nothing wrong. This time I flat out told him to shut up. He asked a third time. Now I got up and squared up to him. Now I was a good eight inches taller than he was if that gives you and idea of the difference in size between us. Also he was a human and I was a Zoroark. If it came to blows I'd kick his ass. Anyways, after I squared up I told him if he said it again I was gonna punch him. He ignored it and asked me again. So I followed through on what I said. I didn't use all my strength of course, but I made sure it hurt even through the cage we had to wear at that level. His eyes widened in fear and his usual smirk went away. I went t hit him again but my teammates held me back, which caught the attention of the coach, who told us to settle it after practice. So I looked him in the eyes and told him that after practice he and I were gonna fight at center ice. So after practice I stood at center ice to wait for him, dropped my stick, took my gloves and helmet off, and when he skated by I told him I was ready. He responded with a stuttering, 'I-I don't wanna hurt you man.' Clearly he was shaken. Well after that day I had to have a hearing as the little bitch went crying to his parents that I had bullied him, but when the staff asked me what had happened, I told them, they asked my teammates, who backed my story and even said he'd tried to get them t say it, so I received no disciplinary action and fuckface and his parents were basically told to go cry a river. After that, he never bothered me again. After that, I was never bullied again. I learned something then. People only listen to strength. The world doesn't care how nice you are. It's all about strength and power. History is written by the victors. Not who is nicest or who is right. If the world only cares about strength, then why should I show kindness to people like that?"

By now they were at the top of the Ferris Wheel. The dusk sun painting the sky purple and gold, and the city lights off to their left. It was a nice view as Ben placed his hand on Logan's shoulder. "Logan, it's true that strength is good to have, but you're wrong. The world needs good people. People to show how society could be if people all got along. I know it's a pipe dream that everyone does, but that would be an ideal world. A world where bullying and racism/specism are no more is only possible if everyone is kind. There's a good fox within you Logan. I know there is. Stop putting him down. Let the world see him as I have seen you. You could do great things if you use good morals as well as your immense strength. Be better than those who hurt you."

Logan didn't respond immediately, opting to look out at the view. Ben could see the gears in his head turning. After a minute or so, Logan responded with a quiet, "Thanks."

Ben wasn't sure how deep his words had gotten through, but he hoped that Logan would take them seriously. Something told him they could be a great team if they got along. Who knows what they could accomplish?


End file.
